Butterflies of
the Amazon rainforest
"BD" butterfly
Callicore cynosura
DOUBLEDAY, 1847
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
BIBLIDINAE
Tribe - CALLICORINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
Callicore cynosura,
male, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
Introduction
The
common name of this species is derived from the bold markings on the underside
hindwings, which resemble the letters "BD".
The upperside wings are black, banded with brilliant red.
There are about 20 other species in the genus
Callicore,
all of which bear distinctive graphic patterns on the underside hindwings.
This
species is found throughout Amazonia, from Colombia to Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.
Habitats
Lowland tropical rainforest.
The butterfly is frequently found close to habitations.
Lifecycle
The eggs are white, and laid singly on the foliage of
Sapindaceae.
The
caterpillars are green, with short spikes at the tip of the abdomen, and a pair
of huge barbed spikes projecting forward from the head.
The
chrysalis is suspended from a leaf by the cremaster. It has a keeled thorax
and a curved abdomen.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are usually encountered as solitary individuals.
They have a rapid and powerful flight over short distances, and
often settle on boats, jetties, or on the walls of wooden
buildings.
Males often visit sandbanks to imbibe dissolved minerals from
urine-soaked ground, and also feed at rotting fruit, but are not
known to visit flowers.
In
hot sunny weather they
habitually settle on the arms and legs of
humans to imbibe sweat. For the photographer this behaviour can
be maddening, as no matter how many times you try to shoo the
butterfly off in the hope that it will resettle on a natural
substrate, it insists on landing on your trousers, your shoulder,
your boots or on the strap of your camera bag. Moreover the longer
you spend trying to get a photograph the tamer the butterfly
becomes, and the more it insists on settling on your back or the
top of your head !
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