Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Egina Daggerwing
Marpesia egina
BATES, 1865
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
CYRESTINAE
Tribe - CYRESTINI
Marpesia
egina, Pantiacolla, Rio Alto Madre de Dios, Peru
Introduction
The
genus Marpesia is confined largely to the neotropical region, but is closely allied to the
Mapwing and Maplet butterflies ( Cyrestis &
Chersonesia ) of the Oriental region.
Daggerwings
are similar in wing shape to Swordtails and Swallowtails ( Papilionidae ), but
the latter have 6 legs whereas Marpesia and all
other Nymphalidae genera have only 4 legs. Another feature to look for is the
antennae. In all Papilionids these are recurved at the tip, but in
Marpesia they are straight. In total there
are 17
Marpesia
species, all with the same wing shape as
egina,
except for
petreus
which has 2 tails on each hindwing and a deeply scalloped outer margin to it's
forewing.
Marpesia
egina is found
throughout the southern Amazon region of Brazil and Peru.
Marpesia
egina, Pantiacolla, Rio Alto Madre de Dios, Peru
Habitats
This species occurs in lowland rainforest at altitudes between about 200-900m.
Lifecycle
I have no data relating to
egina,
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.
Adult behaviour
Males are sometimes seen imbibing moisture at sandbanks, but
usually as singletons or in very low numbers. It is usually seen
amidst aggregations of
chiron,
with which it can be confused until the underside is seen.
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