Smyrna blomfildia

Smyrna blomfildia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Euarthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Nymphalidae
Genus:Smyrna
Species: S. blomfildia
Binomial name
Smyrna blomfildia
(Fabricius, 1781)[1]
Synonyms
  • Papilio blomfildia Fabricius, 1781
  • Papilio proserpina Fabricius, 1793
  • Satyrus pluto Westwood, 1851

Smyrna blomfildia, the Blomfild's beauty, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.

Subspecies

  • Smyrna blomfildia blomfildia Fabricius, 1793 (Brazil)
  • Smyrna blomfildia datis Fruhstorfer, 1908 (Mexico to Panama)

[2]

Description

Smyrna blomfildia has a wingspan of about 75–90 millimetres (3.0–3.5 in). The basic color of the wings is red orange in males, brown in females. The upperside of the forewings show a black apex with three white spots. The underside of hindwings has brown and tan wavy markings with a few submarginal spots.[3]

Mounted specimen of Smyrna blomfildia

The larvae are black, with a bright orange head and strong spines along the white sides.[4] They feed on Urticaceae (Urticastrum, Urrera baccifera),[2] while adults feed on rotting fruits. Males of these butterflies are usually seen in large aggregations imbibing mineralized moisture.[5]

Distribution and habitat

Blomfild's beauty can be found from south Texas and Mexico to Peru through Central America. These butterflies live in tropical forests[2] at an elevation of 0–1,200 metres (0–3,937 ft) above sea level.[5]

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.