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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Great Orange tip
Anteos menippe
HÜBNER, 1818
Family - PIERIDAE
subfamily -
COLIADINAE
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
Anteos menippe,
male, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
Introduction
The
upperside of the male of this large species, which is normally only seen when
the butterfly is in flight, is primrose yellow, with the apical area pale
orange. The female has 2 forms, one like the male, the other white, with blackish discal markings and forewing borders.
It
is a common species in lowland areas, found west of the Andes in Colombia, and
east of the Andes across much of Amazonia, in Ecuador, Brazil and Peru. It also
occurs in Panama.
There are 3 members of the genus
Anteos,
all confined to the neotropics.
Habitats
The butterflies breed mainly in open transitional habitats along riverbanks, and
are most commonly seen when migrating along river courses.
Lifecycle
The eggs are pale, skittle-shaped, and laid singly on the leaves or flower buds
of
Cassia
plants, although several eggs may be laid on a single plant during the course of
a day, by various females.
The caterpillar occurs in
2 colour forms, green or yellow, depending on whether it feeds on the leaves or
flowers of the plant.
The
pupa of Anteos
species, as described by DeVries, is "green, strongly bowed, with a dorsal keel"
and a white lateral line.
Anteos menippe,
male with Protesilaus and
Protographium Swordtails, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are frequently seen migrating along the banks of
rivers in Amazonia, e.g. in Peru in August 2007 I spent 6
hours travelling by longboat along the Rio Madre de Dios, during
which time these butterflies could be seen regularly passing the
boat at a rate of approximately 40 per hour, all heading upstream.
Patches of
mineral-rich damp sand along riverbanks often attract huge
aggregations
of mud-puddling Pieridae, and often one or two
Anteos can be found amidst the masses
of Itaballia,
Phoebis, Ganyra and Eurema.
Only males imbibe moisture from sandbanks. Female
Anteos behave
quite differently. They are more often
seen when taking nectar from flowers, or when flying from plant to
plant, "tasting" the foliage
with their feet, as they try to locate suitable
Cassia plants on which to
oviposit.
Both sexes have a cryptic
leaf-like underside, complete with raised "leaf veins"
which enables them to blend perfectly amongst foliage.
Although I have not found adults at roost, it is highly likely
that they roost hanging from the foliage of trees, where their
cryptic colouration would help them avoid being detected by
avian predators.
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Anteos menippe,
males with Itaballia demophile and
Ganyra phaloe, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru |
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