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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Elissa Page
Metamorpha elissa
HÜBNER,
1819
Family -
NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
NYMPHALINAE
Tribe - VICTORINIINI
Metamorpha elissa,
Rio Alto Madre de Dios, 550m, Peru
Introduction
The Kallimini includes the African
Precis
( Pansies ) and
Salamis
( Mother of Pearl butterflies ) and the Asian
Kallima
( Dead Leaf butterflies ). In the neotropics
the tribe is represented by the genera
Anartia, Junonia, Hypolimnas, Metamorpha, Napeocles
and Siproeta.
The genus Metamorpha
comprises a single species elissa.
It's closest relative is
Siproeta stelenes.
Metamorpha elissa is distributed from
Venezuela to Bolivia.
Habitats
This species is found in a wide variety of habitats
including lowland primary and secondary rainforest, mid-elevation cloudforest and deciduous
forests, at elevations below about 1200m.
Metamorpha elissa,
Satipo, Peru
Lifecycle
I have no information regarding
elissa
but the lifecycle is probably very similar to that of the
closely related genus
Siproeta,
whose eggs are green and laid singly on young leaves of
Acanthaceae. The fully
grown larvae of
Siproeta re dark, spiny, and have knobbed horns on the head, while
the pupae are pale green, elongate, flecked with black spots, and
adorned with golden spikes.
Metamorpha elissa,
Rio Shima, Satipo, Peru
Adult behaviour
The butterflies
are usually encountered singly, and seen flying in open sunlit areas.
In Ecuador I have observed adults nectaring at
Lantana and other flowers
in gardens and forest glades.
In mid-afternoon males sometimes imbibe mineralised moisture from
wet sand. At such times they are extremely wary and difficult to
approach - the individual depicted at the top of this page spent most of a
hot sunny August afternoon darting from place to place, never
settling for more than a second or two in one spot. Females on the
other hand are much more placid and will often bask on bushes for
several minutes at a time between egg-laying bouts.
Metamorpha elissa,
Rio Shima, Satipo, Peru
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