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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Rose Beauty
Haematera pyrame
HÜBNER, 1819
Family -
NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
BIBLIDINAE
Tribe - BIBLIDINI
subtribe -
CALLICORINA
Haematera pyrame, Satipo, Peru
Introduction
The genus Haematera, previously known as Callidula,
is closely allied
to Perisama and Orophila.
It comprises of a single species pyrame.
The upperside of the male is blackish, with
the basal area of fore and hind wings a deep rosy pink colour. The forewings of
the female are similar to those of the male, but the hindwings are entirely dark
brown. In examples of both sexes from Colombia and Venezuela the pink colour is replaced by a more orange hue.
Haematera pyrame is distributed
from
Nicaragua to Argentina, and has 6
recognised subspecies.
Habitats
This
species is found in disturbed habitats within humid deciduous
forest, rainforest and cloudforest, usually at altitudes between
about 200-1200m.
Lifecycle
The fully grown
caterpillar is pale green,
peppered with tiny white warts. It's head bears a pair of large
forward-projecting rosetted spines. The foodplant is
Urvillea ulmacea ( Sapindaceae ).
Adult behaviour
Males
are often seen mud-puddling on sunny river-beaches, dirt roads and
wide forest trails. They are usually seen singly, but in some
years there are major population explosions, and at such times
large aggregations can be found at seepages and along dry river
beds. They are very active in hot sunshine, flitting constantly
from spot to spot, but when they eventually settle - usually
somewhere rich in mineralised moisture - they may remain for
several minutes.
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