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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of the Amazon rainforest
 
Norica Daggerwing
Marpesia themistocles  FABRICIUS, 1793
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily - BIBLIDINAE
Tribe - CYRESTINI
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Marpesia themistocles norica, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
 
Introduction
 
Daggerwing butterflies are similar in wing shape to Swallowtails ( Papilionidae ), but can easily be distinguished from them by their straight, clubbed antennae - Papilionids have tapered clubs and are recurved at the tip.
 
The 17 Marpesia species all share the same characteristic wing shape as themistocles, except for petreus, a bright orange species which has 2 tails on each hindwing, and a deeply scalloped outer margin to it's forewing.
 
Marpesia themistocles can be confused with the female of livius, but the latter has a silvery underside whereas themistocles has a cryptic brown dead-leaf appearance on the undersurface.
 
Marpesia themistocles has also been known by the junior synonym norica, but this taxon is now classified as a subspecies of themistocles.
 
The butterfly occurs in Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.
 
Habitats
 
This is a lowland rainforest species occurring at elevations between about 100-700m.
 
Lifecycle
 
I have no data relating to themistocles, 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 usually encountered singly, or occasionally in two's and three's when visiting wet sand or mud to imbibe mineral-laden moisture. They tend to be less active than most other Marpesia species, and commonly bask with wings outspread. In particularly hot weather the wings are held erect.

 

 

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