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Butterflies of the Amazon rainforest
 
Crethon Daggerwing
Marpesia crethon FABRICIUS, 1776
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily - BIBLIDINAE
Tribe - CYRESTINI
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Marpesia crethon, male, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
 
Introduction
 
The Daggerwing butterflies of the genus Marpesia are similar in wing shape to Swordtails and Swallowtails ( Papilionidae ), but can easily be distinguished from them by their straight, clubbed antennae - Papilionids have tapered clubs and are recurved at the tip. They can also be confused with the Nymphalid genus Hypanartia, but the latter have an angular forewing apex.
 
There are 17 Marpesia species, all with the same characteristic wing shape as crethon, except for petreus, which has 2 tails on each hindwing, and a deeply scalloped outer margin to it's forewing.
 
Marpesia crethon, male, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
 
The genus is confined to the neotropical region, but is closely allied to the Afro-Oriental genus Cyrestis.
 
Marpesia crethon can be confused with orsilochus, but in the latter the white spots on the forewing are absent, replaced with a thin white line. It can also be confused with merops, which has the white spots but lacks the white bands.
 
Marpesia crethon occurs in Colombia, Venezuela, Surinam, Guyana, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.
 
Marpesia crethon, males, upperside and underside, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
 
Habitats
 
This is a lowland rainforest species occurring at elevations between about 100-500m.
 
Lifecycle
 
I have no data relating to crethon, but the following characteristics are applicable in general to the genus Marpesia :
 
The eggs are white or yellowish, and laid singly on the foliage of trees and shrubs in the family Moraceae - including Ficus, Chlorophora, Brosimum and Artocarpus.
 
The fully grown caterpillars are very colourful, typically marked with red and / or yellow spots and stripes. There is a single row of unbranched, recurved spines along the back, and the head is adorned with a pair of very long wavy spines. They feed diurnally and rest on the upper surface of leaves.
 
The pupae are typically pale in colour, marked with blackish spots or blotches, and  have wiry filaments projecting from the back of the abdomen and from the head.
 
Marpesia crethon, male, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
 
Adult behaviour

 

Males are usually encountered in three's and four's when visiting wet sand or mud to imbibe mineral-laden moisture. In hot weather they are extremely active, darting and skipping from place to place, and rarely settling for more than 2 or 3 seconds. The wings are occasionally fanned or held erect, but normally they are spread flat immediately after the butterfly has settled.

 

Females are elusive, spending most of their lives in the forest canopy, but in overcast weather will sometimes descend to settle on foliage along forest trails.

 

 

Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.

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