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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Peruvian Banner
Ectima lirides
STAUDINGER, 1885
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
BIBLIDINAE
Tribe - AGERONIINI
subtribe -
AGERONIINA
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
Ectima lirides, Rio Madre de
Dios, Peru
Introduction
The
Biblidinae are recognised by their diverse but simple and often colourful
patterns. In the neotropics their representatives include the Ageroniina - a
subtribe which includes the
Hamadryas
Crackers, the
Ectima
Banners, the
Panacea
Flashers and the Painted Beauty, which is the sole member of the genus
Batesia.
Ectima
and Hamadryas
have much in common, not least their disposition for basking head-downwards on
tree trunks with their wings held flattened against the bark. In common with the
females of most Hamadryas
species, Ectima
have a band of white running diagonally across the forewings, but
Hamadryas
are larger, and have very intricate calico patterns on the upper surface, unlike
the much plainer Ectima.
There are 4 Ectima
species - erycinoides
from Central America,
thecla from southern Amazonia, lirides
from Peru and Bolivia, and iona which is
distributed from Colombia to the Mato Grosso.
Habitats
This species is confined to primary rainforest at altitudes between about
200-800m.
Lifecycle
The eggs are white and
laid singly on new growth leaves of
Dalechampia
and other Euphorbiaceae.
The
fully grown larva is black and covered with branched spines.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are usually encountered as singletons.
They bask in the characteristic
Hamadryas /
Ectima fashion, head-downwards
on tree trunks, either within dense forest or in orchards and
other lightly forested habitats. They normally bask at a height of
about 4 metres, but can be enticed lower down by applying
liquefied plantain or fish paste to trunks at eye-level.
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