Butterflies of the
Amazon and Andes
Crethon Daggerwing
Marpesia crethon
FABRICIUS, 1776
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
CYRESTINAE
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.
Marpesia
crethon, Satipo, Peru
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