OzButterflies

OzButterflies is a valuable resource for investigating phenotypic variation and the evolution of colour in butterflies. It includes photographic, CO1 sequences and reflectance data from 16 ecological communities across Australia, spanning more than 2,500 km and encompassing a broad range of climates and levels of urbanization. The dataset covers at least one individual from 125 species across five families, representing over a quarter of Australia's known butterfly diversity.

It contains: 

•    Standardized, calibrated photographs in both visible (VIS) and ultraviolet (UV) light of over 4000 specimens, all with a scale•    Wing spectral reflectance measurements for at least one male and one female of each species (when possible)•    Cytochrome Oxidase I (CO1) DNA sequences in ab1 format for over 1,600 individuals

This integrated dataset contains a multitude of morphological butterfly variation that can be used by a multitude of disciplines. 

Within Zenodo, specimen data are packaged into a zip file for each genus. The database can be downloaded directly from Zenodo, or using the R package ButtR (https://github.com/DiogoJackson/ButtR). ButtR simplifies downloading and unpacking the entire database or custom subsets, e.g. all data from a single species or site.