Butterfly

Butterflies are real-world insects that appear in many games of the Super Mario franchise. They usually do so in groups, often simply as a background element, such as in Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Flutters and other species from the Super Mario franchise are based on butterflies.

Super Mario Bros. Print World
Butterflies first appear in Super Mario Bros. Print World as one of the selectable borders.

Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, there are a few stages (as well as outside the Mushroom Castle) where butterflies fly around. They appear in groups of three and have two variations: In the first variation, one butterfly turns into a 1-UP Mushroom upon being hit by Mario, and the other two do not transform into anything. In the second variation, one butterfly turns into a 1-UP Mushroom, and the other two transform into bombs similar to a flame thrower or iron ball and chase Mario until they hit him or something else. In either situation, the butterflies explode. Exploding butterflies can be found only on Tall, Tall Mountain and Tiny-Huge Island. In this game, butterflies are violet with white spots on their wings.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, a Yoshi can eat certain types of butterflies to get different items. Yellow butterflies yield regular coins, blue butterflies yield Blue Coins, and green butterflies yield 1-Up Mushrooms. In this game, butterflies are usually found fluttering around in groups, and are rarely by themselves like in Super Mario 64.

Super Mario Galaxy
In Super Mario Galaxy, butterflies are seen throughout various galaxies. Even though they are used mainly for decoration, the player can collect a single Star Bit per butterfly by pointing the Star Pointer at the butterfly and moving the pointer around while still touching it, although this does not work while Mario or Luigi is on the Comet Observatory. If Mario or Luigi sleeps near butterflies, they will sit on Mario's or Luigi's head.

Super Mario Galaxy 2
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, a number of shimmering golden butterflies appear on the Starting Planet in the Sky Station Galaxy (three also appear on the Peewee Geo Planet later in the galaxy), but only while Co-Star Mode is active. The player can use the Co-Star Luma to spin the butterflies in the same way as they would any other object. When spun, each butterfly releases three Star Bits, after which they disappear. They also disappear the second that Co-Star Mode is deactivated, though when it is used again, they return. If spun by the Co-Star Luma, they are gone for good. These golden butterflies also appear on the Earth Planet, the Yoshi Tower Planet, the Fossil Planet, the Solar System Planet, and the Cone Planet in the Yoshi Star Galaxy. A different variety of butterfly also appears on the Stone Mountains Planet in the Fluffy Bluff Galaxy. These particular butterflies are purple and are present for decoration only.

Super Mario Odyssey
The Lost Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey is home to a large number of multicolored butterflies; they are mostly found in colonies and scatter slightly when Mario invades them. Apart from the ornamental butterflies, there is also a considerably larger, glowing butterfly that holds a Power Moon. It is always found east from Rocky Mountain Summit, resting on the edge of a narrow cliff jut. It flies away if Mario comes close to it, returning to the same spot after Mario leaves; however, it does not react to being approached by Cappy. There are also butterflies that resemble large whites and swallowtails in the Wooded Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom, respectively.

Mario Party 4
Butterflies serve as points in the Mario Party 4 minigame Butterfly Blitz. There are three kinds of butterflies that give players points: Yellow butterflies are worth one point, red butterflies are worth two points, and blue butterflies are worth three points.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
In Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, yellow butterflies appear sporadically throughout the game. If clapped, they turn into one beat each.

Yoshi's Crafted World
In Yoshi's Crafted World, there are five colorful butterfly crafts that are made of cut paper with drawn faces and black pipe cleaner antennae in Spring Sprung Trail which the pink Blockafeller requests. Their wings are pink, light yellow, light green, and light blue. Some grassland courses also have yellow butterfly crafts used as props by Shy Guys hiding behind some cardboard bushes.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Butterflies appear in The Super Mario Bros. Movie as wildlife in the Mushroom Forest. Some of them appear in their design from Super Mario 64.