Myscelia ethusa
| Myscelia ethusa | ||||||||||||
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Myscelia ethusa , male |
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| Myscelia ethusa | ||||||||||||
| ( Doyère , 1840) |
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Myscelia ethusa is a butterfly ( butterflies ) fromthe noble butterfly family (Nymphalidae).
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 64 to 76 millimeters. The outer edge of the wing is slightly jagged. The basic color is black. Females and males have a slightly different pattern. On the upper side of the forewings of the females there are three almost parallel blue longitudinal stripes as well as many white spots towards the hem. The males show four narrower blue vertical stripes, some of which are broken up into spots, and fewer white spots. There are four slightly wavy blue stripes on the top of the females' hind wings, while the males show three wider blue stripes. The underside of the hind wing is marbled in various shades of brown. As a result, the moths look like a piece of bark with their wings folded closely together and are difficult to recognize by predators.
Egg, caterpillar, pupa
The pale greenish to whitish egg is barrel-shaped and has a few tips and ribs. Young caterpillars are yellowish, when fully grown they take on a strong green to yellow-green color and have very small white dots and short, slightly branched thorns along their entire length. There are two conspicuous, strongly branched, black horns on the head. The tumbler initially has a greenish color and shows brown wing sheaths shortly before the moths hatch.
Distribution and occurrence
The range of the species includes southern Texas , Mexico and Colombia as well as large parts of Central America . Myscelia ethusa prefers to colonize subtropical forest areas.
Way of life
The moths fly in several generations throughout the year. They like to suckle on overripe fruits or damp places in the earth. The caterpillars live on the Dalechampia plant genus, which belongs to the milkweed family (Euphorbiaceae) .
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ butterfliesandmoths.org
- ↑ butterfliesofamerica
- ↑ mexican_bluewing_life_cycle
- ↑ a b c James A. Scott: The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 1986, ISBN 0-8047-1205-0
literature
- James A. Scott: The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 1986, ISBN 0-8047-1205-0
Web links
- eol.org Encyclopedia of Life