Grading of Butterfly Specimens

Customers often ask about the grading of butterflies being offered for sale. As butterflies are not a manufactured product, quality of specimens can vary greatly, especially if they have been flying around for a while.

Below is the grading system we use at Insect Designs. Most resellers use the same grading system.

A1 - This refers to perfect quality specimens with no damage, or as perfect as you can get from a wild caught specimen. Sometimes a grading of EP is used for farmed specimens harvested as soon as they have emerged. At Insect Designs we use A1 for both farmed and wild caught specimens.

A1- - This refers to specimens with very minor damage such as antenna damage, a tiny chip or a small scratch.

A- - This refers to specimens with minor damage such as antennas missing, small chips, minor scratching or some flight wear such as minor scale damage.

A2 - This refers to specimens with considerable damage such as large chips, small pieces missing from the wings, severely damaged abdomen, major scale damage, staining, small tears.

second grade - This refers to specimens with more severe damage than A2.