Colobura dirce
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Colobura dirce , underside of the wing |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Colobura dirce | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
Colobura dirce is a butterfly ( butterflies ) from the family of noble butterflies (Nymphalidae) that occurs in Central and South America. The species was described by Carl von Linné as Papilio dirce and named after Dirke ( Latin Dirce ), a figure from Greek mythology .
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 70 to 80 millimeters. There is no sexual dimorphism . In both sexes, the basic wing color is black-brown. From the middle of the anterior margin to the inner corner, a wide white to yellow-white band extends through the disk region on the upper side of the forewing . The undersides of the wings are patterned like a mosaic with many thin black stripes and spots. The whitish band shines through on the underside of the forewing. In English usage the species is referred to as Mosaic , Zebra Mosaic or Dirce Beauty . At the anal corner there is a very short, blunt tail that shows two dark blue spots that are yellowish on the underside of the wing at the anal corner .
Pre-imaginal stages
The egg is dark olive-green in color, spherical and covered with white-green ribs that fade at the micropyle . After four days the caterpillars hatch , which are initially dark green and covered with many brown tubercles on the body surface . The first molt occurs after just three days. When fully grown, the caterpillars are velvety black in color, have a shiny black head and have short, whitish to yellowish branched thorns. The doll is designed as a falling doll, has a length of approx. 28 millimeters, a brown color and looks like a dried up, broken branch.
Similar species
The moths of Colobura annulata differ only in slightly smaller or narrower black spots and stripes on the underside of the forewings. The species can usually also be distinguished on the basis of their behavior in the caterpillar stage. While the caterpillars of Colobura annulata predominantly live gregariously in tree canopies , the caterpillars of Colobura dirce prefer to stay individually or in small groups on low young trees. However, they are sometimes found in large numbers and can cause damage. An incident was reported in Brazil , for example , where a large number of Colobura dirce caterpillars almost devoured a planting of 20 Cecropia hololeuca trees, about 50 centimeters high .
Distribution, subspecies and habitat
The distribution area of the nominate form Colobura dirce dirce extends from Mexico in a southerly direction through Central and South America to northern Argentina . The species is represented on the Caribbean islands by the subspecies Colobura dirce wolcotti . The species is not native to Europe. If there is evidence from Great Britain , it can be assumed that the animal was brought in with imported products. Colobura dirce primarily inhabits tropical rainforests at altitudes between 0 and 1400 meters. Sometimes the moths are also found in orchards.
Way of life
The moths fly in several generations throughout the year, mainly in April and October. They like to visit damp places in the earth, injured tree trunks or rotting fruit in order to absorb fluids and minerals. On the other hand, flowers are not sought. They like to rest upside down on tree trunks with folded wings. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of ant trees ( cecropia ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Carl von Linné : Systema naturae. 10th edition, 1758; Volume 1, p. 477
- ^ Butterflies of Cuba
- ↑ a b c K. R. Willmott, LM Constantino, & JPW Hall: A Review of Colobura (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) with Comments on Larval and Adult Ecology and Description of a Sibling Species , Annals of The Entomological Society of America, Vol. 94, no . 2, 2001, pp. 185–196 ( http://www.butterfliesofecuador.com/reprints/2001WCH_AR.pdf )
- ↑ Wagner De Souza Tavares, Sebastião Lourenço de Assis Júnior, Marcus Alvarenga Soares & José Cola Zanuncio: Colobura dirce dirce (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Larvae Damaging Cecropia hololeuca (Rosales: Urticaceae) in the Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais , Florida Scientist , 98 (2), 2015, pp. 792–795 ( https://doi.org/10.1653/024.098.0262 )
- ↑ a b Markku Savela: Colobura Bill Berg, 1820 - distribution. In: Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Accessed May 5, 2019 .
- ↑ UK Butterflies
- ^ Mosaic at Butterflies of the Amazon and Andes
- ↑ flight times
Web links
- butterfliesofamerica - Dirce Beauty at Butterflies of America
- bugguide - photo of a caterpillar