Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Glittering Sapphire
Lasaia agesilas
LATREILLE, 1809
Family - RIODINIDAE
subfamily -
RIODININAE
Tribe - RIODININI
Lasaia
agesilas,
male, Catarata Bayoz, La Merced, Peru
Introduction
The genus
Lasaia contains 14 species,
all of which are found exclusively in the neotropics. They are small butterflies, averaging
about 30mm in wingspan. Males have extremely reflective
wing scales, with a ground colour of blue, green or grey according to species.
Females are rarely seen. They are generally a dull
brown colour. In both sexes the ground colour is overlaid with a linear pattern
of black markings.
Lasaia
agesilas is subject
to variation in the size and extent of the black markings - in some examples
these are much reduced so that the insect approaches the Bolivian species kennethi
in appearance.
The butterfly
occurs from Mexico to Paraguay.
Lasaia
agesilas,
Satipo, Peru
Habitats
This species is found in rainforest and cloudforest habitats at altitudes between about 200-1800m.
Lasaia
agesilas,
male, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
Lifecycle
The eggs are flattened, and resemble a pair of stacked pies. I have no other
information regarding the lifecycle. The foodplant of the related
Lasaia sula is Albizia
( Fabaceae ) so it is likely that other Lasaia
species feed on related plants.
Lasaia
agesilas,
male, Rio Shima, Satipo, Peru
Adult behaviour
Females
are rarely seen, but males are commonly encountered in
one's and two's when imbibing mineral-rich moisture from
sandbanks, peccary wallows or sunlit forest tracks.
They are only
active in hot sunny weather. The flight of all
Lasaia species is erratic, very rapid
and close to the ground, with a tendency to flit constantly from spot to spot.
The butterflies are strongly attracted to human sweat. I have
found that when trying to photograph them they repeatedly insist
on landing on my forehead. Brushing them off has absolutely no
effect - they just fly straight back. On one occasion I amused my
colleagues by having 3 of these glittering butterflies
simultaneously imbibing sweat from my forehead.
Lasaia
agesilas,
male, Catarata Bayoz, La Merced, Peru
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