Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Castalia Green Mantle
Caria castalia
MÉNÉTRIÉS,
1855
Family - RIODINIDAE
subfamily -
RIODININAE
Tribe - RIODININI
Caria castalia, Rio Shima, Satipo, Peru
Introduction
The genus
Caria
contains some of the most beautiful and elusive species on Earth.
Although fairly common they are rarely seen due to their secretive habits, and
are virtually impossible to follow in flight. Once seen these glittering jewels
of the Amazon are never forgotten.
Lepidopterists
often feel quite overwhelmed by the beauty of these butterflies, but initial
feelings of ecstasy are soon replaced by the rapid onset of frustration,
anguish, despair and an uncontrollable urge to spend the next 2 hours searching
relentlessly in the vicinity of the sighting, peering into bushes, crawling
about on the ground and investigating every nook and cranny while muttering and
pleading with the butterfly to reveal itself ! Unfortunately they have a habit
of settling on mossy boulders or on algae covered ground, where they are
superbly camouflaged.
There are about 14 species in the
genus Caria, 5 of which are restricted to Central America, while the
others including mantinea
and sponsa
are found primarily in Amazonia and the foothills of the eastern Andes.
Several of the species including
mantinea,
plutargus,
castalia
and
smaragdina
are almost identical on the upperside. Theoretically they can be separated by
examining the red markings at the base of the underside forewings. In
mantinea ( including C.
m. lampeto ) there is
a single large red blotch. In castalia and smaragdina the red markings on the
underside are entirely absent. The underside markings of
plutargus are similar to those of mantinea,
but the median green band on the upperside is much broader than in either
mantinea, castalia or
smaragdina. Another taxon
fulvimargo can be distinguished by the presence of thin orange borders on
the underside hindwings, while the red markings at the base of its underside
forewings are broken into 3 fragments. Lamas classifies
fulvimargo as a subspecies of mantinea, but
DNA analysis may well prove it to be a full species, as originally classified by
Lathy.
Habitats
This species is confined to primary rainforest at altitudes between about
100-800m. It is usually found in the vicinity of rocky or pebble-strewn streams.
Lifecycle
I have no data regarding
castalia but the lifecycle is likely to be very
similar to that of other Caria species as follows:
The eggs are laid singly under the leaves of Ulmaceae or Bromeliaceae. The
caterpillars are densely hairy, and live and feed within rolled leaf tubes.
Adult behaviour
The adults
probably spend much of their time in the canopy. Freshly emerged
males descend on
hot sunny mornings at which time they can sometimes be seen
imbibing mineralised moisture from sandbanks, peccary wallows or
pebble-strewn river beaches. They
habitually settle between rocks or within crevices and are
exceptionally difficult to locate. They have a rapid and erratic flight
which is virtually impossible to follow with the
eye. However with
practice it is often possible to relocate them once they resettle,
as they tend to only cover quite short distances. Usually they
settle on the ground, but sometimes they land on foliage, or on a damp
sunlit rock or boulder, on which they can very easily be
overlooked due to their remarkable resemblance to a patch of wet
moss.
The butterflies
always bask in the characteristic posture illustrated in the
photographs, with the forewings swept back, half covering the
hindwings.
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