Introduction

There are 8 species in the genus Aphrissa.

On the upperside the male of statira is deep yellow at the base of the wings, with the outer third of both wings being a much paler greenish yellow. The female is a unicolorous lemon yellow, with a black spot in the fw discal cell, black wing margins and a black apex. The underside of the wings in both sexes has a lustrous appearance.

Aphrissa statira is by far the most widely distributed and abundant species. It is found from Florida to Bolivia.

Habitats

This butterfly is usually seen along riverbanks and other open habitats, at altitudes between about 0-1600m. It is commonest between about 200-800m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are laid singly on the leaves of the larval foodplants.

The caterpillars use a variety of hostplants including Cassia, Dalbergia and Entada (Leguminosae), Callichamys (Bignoniaceae) and Calliandra (Mimosaceae). DeVries considers that there may be two separate species under the name statira, as there are 2 larval forms which use host plants. The form which feeds on Leguminosae is orange, tinged with greenish, and has a dark bluish band below the spiracles, and an orange head. The form that feeds on Bignoniaceae has a green head and a pale green body with a thin yellow lateral stripe.

The chrysalis (Jamaican form) varies in colour from grey to pale bluish-green, and has a thin reddish line along the back and a cream lateral line.

Adult behaviour

The butterfly is strongly migratory in behaviour, flying upriver in the latter part of the dry season, and downriver towards the sea in the wet season. It often continues out onto the open sea and colonises islands e.g. in the Antilles. The flight is fast and direct, as is typical of migratory species.

Males are commonly found in groups, imbibing moisture from damp sand on river beaches. These groups are often tightly packed, with up to 100 butterflies crammed together on a square foot or less of ground. The butterflies sometimes form exclusive groups, but just as frequently intermingle with other pale coloured genera including Rhabdodryas, Phoebis and Protesilaus.

Females do not visit sandbanks, but can be seen nectaring at flowers, and are particularly attracted to red or orange flowers such as Lantana.

Introduction

The subfamily Coliadinae includes the Sulphurs, Grass Yellows, Clouded Yellows and Brimstones. In the neotropical region there are about 70 species.

The genus Phoebis comprises of 8 species, most of which are strongly migratory in behaviour. They are widely distributed across the region, with 3 exceptions: avellaneda which is endemic to Cuba, editha from Hispaniola, and the Ecuadorian species bourkei.

All Phoebis species are sexually dimorphic. Males are bright yellow above, with a thick patch of matt androconial scales around the forewing cell. Females are paler on both wing surfaces.

Phoebis philea is found from Mexico to Peru, and also occurs on many of the Caribbean islands.

Habitats

As with other Phoebis species, philea is highly migratory in behaviour and can thus be found in a wide variety of habitats including primary and secondary rainforest, deciduous woodland, scrubby grassland and farmland; at altitudes between sea level and about 1500m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are yellow and laid singly on young leaves of Cassia (Caesalpinaceae). The larva when fully grown is pale green and covered with greenish-black dots. There is a broad straw-coloured band along the sides, above which is a series of short blackish vertical bands. The pupa is pinkish, with the wing venation picked out in pale green, and a prominent pale green lateral line.

Adult behaviour

Males are usually seen in lower numbers than sennae or argante, but can often be found amongst mud-puddling aggregations of other Phoebis species. These insects often form very tightly packed groups of dozens of individuals. If alarmed the entire group erupts spontaneously into the air and swirls about for several minutes afterwards in a seething mass of fluttering yellow wings.

The paler females are seen less often, and are usually observed in flight, or when nectaring at red flowers such as Lantana and Impatiens. There is no courtship ritual – the females are intercepted in mid-flight and forced to the ground where copulation takes place immediately.

Introduction

The Charaxinae are a group of robust, medium to large Nymphalids characterised by having a rapid and powerful flight, stout bodies, and a habit of feeding at dung and carrion. They are represented in Africa by Charaxes, Palla and Euxanthe, in the Oriental and Australian regions by Charaxes and Polyura; and in the neotropics by genera including Consul, Memphis, Fountainea, Agrias, Prepona, and Archaeoprepona.

Archaeoprepona and Prepona are very similar on the upper surface, being chocolate brown with bands of dazzling blue or turquoise. The 2 genera can be distinguished by examining the underside hind-wings – in Archaeoprepona there is a tiny submarginal ocellus in each cell, but in Prepona the ocellus near the apex, and the one near the tornus, are both greatly enlarged. Another difference is that Prepona males have tufts of yellow androconial scales on the upper surface of the hind-wings, whereas in Archaeoprepona these are black. Both genera are noted for their red proboscises.

There are 7 species in Prepona and 8 in Archaeoprepona.

Prepona pylene is found throughout the Amazonian region from Honduras to Paraguay. Subspecies eugenes is restricted to the foothills of the eastern Andes in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Habitats

This species is found in rainforests at altitudes between about 400-1000m.

Lifecycle

I have no data regarding the lifecycle of pylene. The larval foodplants of other Prepona species include Andira (Fabaceae) and Inga (Mimosaceae).

Adult behaviour

The butterflies have an agile and very powerful flight, and are only active in hot sunny conditions.

Both sexes commonly feed at sap runs and at rotting fruit. Males also imbibe mineralised moisture from damp soil or sand, and sometimes visit carrion or dung on the forest floor.

Males often sit facing head-downwards and with wings half open, on narrow tree trunks at heights between about 2-4 metres, and from this position watch for potential mates. Females tend to spend most of the time in the canopy.

Introduction

The family Notodontidae comprises of about 3800 species. The moths are found in all regions of the world, with the greatest diversity and abundance in the Amazonian rainforests. The adults of most species are coloured in subtle hues of brown, grey and/or white, cryptically patterned with blotches or striations. Some such as the Buff-tip Phalera bucephala ( subfamily Phalerinae ) are wonderfully disguised as snapped twigs. Others include the Pale Prominent Pterostoma palpina ( Notodontinae ) which is almost indistinguishable from a piece of broken wood, and the Lobster moth Stauropus fagi ( Heterocampinae ) which looks exactly like a bit of tree bark.

The genus Stauropus is usually classified as belonging to the Notodontinae but some workers place it in the Heterocampinae, or include it ( and the closely allied genus Cerura ) in the Stauropinae.

There are 10 Stauropus species, distributed variously from Europe to Indonesia.

Stauropus fagi is the commonest and most widespread species in the genus. It is found across most of Europe and temperate Asia.

Habitats

This moth inhabits deciduous woodland at altitudes between sea level and about 1000m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are laid singly on the leaves of oak Quercus, beech Fagus, birch Betula or hazel Corylus.

The newly hatched caterpillar has extraordinary long legs and a swollen anal segment, and in the 1st and 2nd instars is ant-like in appearance. It moves about nervously just like an ant, and attacks any other small insect that approaches, including other Stauropus caterpillars. As it grows older it develops fleshy lappets and a greatly swollen anal segment which is arched scorpion-style over the back.

The fully grown caterpillar is wonderfully disguised and almost impossible to locate in the wild, as its posture and general appearance perfectly simulates a bunched up dead leaf or bract. If it is molested however the “dead leaf” suddenly springs into life, and the larva thrusts out its long legs menacingly, although it is not known whether this actually deters birds from attacking and eating it.

The pupa is formed within a strong silk cocoon spun amongst a bunch of dead leaves.

Adult

The adult moth emerges in May or June. It has a long “furry” abdomen. The dark brown wings are held in such a way that the costa and apex of the hindwings protrude from behind the forewings. When at rest on tree trunks during the daytime the pattern blends perfectly with the rough bark.

The moth gets its name from the appearance of the caterpillar, which has been likened to a lobster.

Introduction

There are about 2700 species worldwide in the subfamily Lymantriinae, the highest concentrations of species being found in South America and the Afrotropical region. Madagascar alone accounts for no less than 258 species. There are 32 species in Europe, of which 11 have been recorded from the UK. Two of these are now extinct in Britain, the Reed Tussock Laelia coenosa and the Gypsy moth Lymantria dispar, although the latter is slowly becoming re-established following introductions and immigrations from continental Europe where it is still a common species.

Moths in the Lymantriinae are generally brown, greyish or white in colour, and most species only bear weak patterns, typically in the form of dark suffused greyish lines. Most species are nocturnal, although there are several diurnal genera including Orgyia.

The genus Orgyia comprises of between 65-70 species. They are represented in all temperate and tropical regions of the world. There are 13 species in North America and 10 in western Europe. All Orgyia species have predominantly brown or greyish-brown males. The females are wingless, or have very reduced wings, so cannot fly.

Their bodies are fat due to being heavily laden with eggs. Overall they have a quite spidery appearance. Their inability to fly means that the maintenance of genetic diversity is reliant on the ingress of flying males, aided by the fact that a single female may mate with several different males. Colonisation and expansion of range however occurs only as a result of continuing short-distance dispersal by the caterpillars, yet amazingly some species such as antiqua are extremely widespread, and inhabit a vast number of different habitats.

Orgyia antiqua is by far the commonest and most widespread member of the genus, being found throughout most temperate regions of the northern hemisphere.

Habitats

This species is ubiquitous in forests, parks, farmland, gardens, scrubby grasslands and heaths, and can even be found in city centres.

Lifecycle

The Vapourer forms its pupa within a silky cocoon attached to tree trunks, fence posts, brick walls or virtually any other rough textured vertical surface. The wingless females emerge and spend their entire adult lives sitting on their cocoons. They disseminate potent pheromones to attract males in from distances of 2km or more away. It is these pheromones or ‘vapours’ that give the moth its English common name.

After mating the females lay all their eggs in a single flat batch of about 200, on their cocoon. Upon hatching the tiny larvae eat the upper part of their eggshells, and then rapidly disperse in search of foodplants. They feed on a wide variety of trees, bushes and woody plants.

The caterpillars are blackish, and have tufts of stiff setae emerging from red or orange tubercules on the back and sides. The first thoracic segment bears a pair of long black forward-pointing tufts, and their is a group of 4 dense tussocks of cream or buff coloured setae arising vertically like little shaving brushes from the first 4 abdominal segments. Female caterpillars grow to about twice the size of males.

Adult

Adult males fly on sunny days between late July and mid-October. They have a rapid erratic flight, twisting and turning as if in a demented state, and soaring high above trees. In Leicester the moths have even been observed from the 13th floor of a city centre building. The apparently crazy flight pattern is quite deliberate – the rapid and random changes of direction make it much easier for the moths ‘scent radar’ to track and home in on the pheromone trail of the females.

Introduction

The family Endromidae comprises of only 22 species. The majority are found in temperate regions of the Palaearctic region, from northern Europe to China and Korea. There are 8 genera – Andraca, Endromis, Falcogona, Mirina, Mustilia, Mustilizans, Oberthueria, Prismosticta and Pseudandraca. The adult moths vary in wing shape and pattern, but tend to be brownish in colour with white and grey or black markings. They have a stout thorax, and short antennae which are pectinate in males.

The genus Endromis comprises of a single species versicolora which is found throughout Europe, and across temperate Asia to Siberia and China. In Britain it is a very scarce insect, confined to the central and eastern Highlands of Scotland.

Habitats

This species is found in birch forests, in areas of extensive young growth, at altitudes between sea level and about 500m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are laid in batches on twigs of birch Betula. The young larvae are gregarious but become solitary during the later instars. They resemble Sphingidae larvae, but have a shorter tail horn and forward-slanting diagonal stripes, as opposed to the backward-slanting stripes of hawkmoths. When at rest they adopt the characteristic head-in-the-air posture as depicted above. The pupa is formed within a coarse brown silk cocoon, among leaf litter on the ground.

Adult

Males fly on sunny or warm overcast days in April and early May. Females hang suspended from sprays of birch during the daytime, and disseminate pheromones which can attract males from 1-2kms away. The male is considerably smaller than the female, and during copulation clings to her abdomen. The females only fly at night.

Introduction

The subfamily Liphyrinae comprises of 19 small stout-bodied African species in the genus Aslauga, 3 African species in Euliphyra, and 3 Indo-Australian species in Liphyra. These genera are treated by several workers as members of another subfamily, Miletinae. In the latter arrangement the Liphyrinae are relegated to the rank of a tribe – Liphyrini.

The most well known of the 3 Liphyra species is the “moth butterfly” brassolis, which is distributed from India to the Philippines, and south via Borneo and peninsular Malaysia to Sulawesi, Java and Australia. The other 2 species – grandis and castnia, are both endemic to New Guinea.

The moth butterfly is one of the largest members of the Lycaenidae in the world, with a wingspan of about 70-76mm. The butterflies are heavily built, and have a furry moth-like appearance, hence the common name.

Habitats

This species inhabits rainforest, including degraded and semi-cleared areas, at altitudes between sea level and about 400 metres.

Lifecycle

The extraordinary carnivorous caterpillar of Liphyra brassolis lives inside the nests of weaver ants Oecophylla smaragdina, attacking and devouring hundreds of ant grubs.

The butterfly lays it’s eggs singly on the underside of tree branches. It often returns several times to the same spot, so that several eggs may eventually be laid in close proximity. The chosen tree can be one of several species, but only “ant trees”, are used, i.e. a specimens which have been colonised by weaver ants. Each tree holds numerous ant nests, each constructed by the ants from bunches of leaves which they have stitched together with silk. Each nest may contain between 50-200 worker ants, a queen ant, and hundreds of developing ant grubs.

The eggs hatch after about 3 weeks. The early part of the larval stage is not recorded, so it is not known what the caterpillars feed on during the 1st and 2nd instars, or how they find their way into the ant nests. One possibility is that they feed at first on algae growing on the tree trunks ( as is the case with Lipteninae in Africa ), and are later captured by ants and taken into the nests.

Half grown caterpillars are commonly found within ant nests. A single nest can sometimes house as many as 5 or 6 Liphyra caterpillars. Any insect unfortunate enough to find it’s way into an ant nest would normally be killed and eaten, but the tortoise-like Liphyra caterpillar has a built-in survival kit, in the form of a very tough chitinous carapace that is impervious to ant bites. The ants attempt to flip the caterpillar over to reach the soft under belly, but the caterpillar uses it’s powerful sucker-like feet to pull the carapace down and seal it against the substrate, defeating all attempts by the ants to gain entry.

Whenever the caterpillar is hungry, it lifts the carapace slightly, and pops it’s head out to grab an ant grub with its mandibles. In an instant the grub is pulled under the carapace. The caterpillar then pierces the skin of the grub, and sucks out the juices. The empty skin of the grub is then ejected, and the caterpillar roams a short distance until it locates and kills it’s next victim. Up to a dozen ant grubs can be killed and eaten per hour by a single caterpillar. A few Liphyra caterpillars can easily annihilate an entire brood of ant grubs in a couple of weeks.

The pupa is formed beneath the protective carapace, where it is safe from attack.

In Burma, Thailand and Cambodia the caterpillars and pupae are harvested by villagers for human consumption. They are also used in medicines, and in bird feed and fish bait.

Adult

When the butterfly emerges from it’s pupa, it cracks open the protective carapace, and finds itself inside the ant nest, surrounded by scores of very aggressive ants which try very hard to kill it. They are unable to do so however because the body and wings of the butterfly are covered with loose sticky scales which become detached and clog the jaws of the ants. This enables the butterfly to crawl out of the ant nest and find a safe spot where it can expand and dry it’s wings before taking it’s first flight.

Contrary to popular myth, the moth butterfly is not crepuscular, but flies during daylight like other Lycaenidae. It is unable to feed, as it’s proboscis is wholly atrophied, so it depends for sustenance entirely on fats and proteins stored within its body, acquired during the caterpillar stage.

Introduction

In Europe and North America the moth family Zygaenidae is best known for the colourful day-flying Burnets of the subfamily Zygaeninae, and the metallic green Forester moths of the Procridinae. In the tropics a further 5 subfamilies occur, including the Chalcosiinae, which has representatives distributed across the Indo-Australian region from Pakistan to the Philippines, and south via the Malay peninsula to Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java and New Guinea. The genus Cyclosia comprises of about 100 species. Cyclosia papilionaris is distributed from Thailand to south China.

Habitats

This species is found in rainforest and humid deciduous forest at altitudes between sea level and about 1000m.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplant of Cyclosia papilionaris is Aporusa dioica ( Euphorbiaceae ). The larva illustrated below has been parasitised by an entomopathogenic nematode worm. When the worm was a minute juvenile it was probably unintentionally ingested by the caterpillar as it browsed on leaves. After entering the body of the caterpillar, the nematode, over a period of several days fed internally on the body tissues of the caterpillar. Once the nematode became fully grown it burrowed it’s way out of the caterpillar, which slowly shrivelled and died. The cycle is completed when the nematode drops to the ground and reproduces in the soil. A new generation of tiny juvenile nematodes then slithers up onto a leaf to await the arrival of another caterpillar.

The pupa is formed within a cocoon, attached to the upper surface of a leaf.

Adult

This is a day-flying species. Both sexes are illustrated below.

Introduction

To be completed.

Habitats

To be completed.

Lifecycle

To be completed.

Adult

To be completed.

Introduction

The family Sphingidae comprises 200 genera and about 1200 known species worldwide. There are about 20 species in the genus Eumorpha, found variously from Canada to Argentina. Eumorpha fasciatus is distributed from eastern Canada to Bolivia.

Habitats

This larva was found in primary rainforest, at an altitude of about 200m.

Lifecycle

The mature larva can be yellow, greenish-yellow, green and red, or yellow and red; and the combinations of these colours can vary from segment to segment on an individual larva. When young, the larva has a long and very thin caudal horn, but this is reduced to a stump in the final instar. The white objects on the illustrated larva are the cocoons of a parasitoid wasp.

Adult

The adult is very similar in appearance to Eumorpha vitis which is illustrated below.