leaf butterfly

noun

1. any of various butterflies of the genus Kallima, of southern Asia, the East Indies, and Australia, having wings that resemble dead leaves.

Word History and Origins

Origin of leaf butterfly¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

For some, such as the dead leaf butterfly, which looks like you might expect, wings are camouflage.

From Washington Post

Again, as to the leaf butterfly, he says, ‘We come to a still more extraordinary part of the imitation, for we find representations of leaves in every stage of decay, variously blotched, and mildewed, and pierced with holes, and in many cases irregularly covered with powdery black dots, gathered into patches and spots so closely resembling the various kinds of minute fungi that grow on dead leaves, that it is impossible to avoid thinking at first sight that the butterflies themselves have been attacked by real fungi.’

From Project Gutenberg