Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Scorching Sapphire
Phareas coeleste
WESTWOOD, 1852
Family - HESPERIIDAE
subfamily -
PYRGINAE
Tribe - EUDAMINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Phareas
coeleste at bird dropping, Rio Madre de Dios, Peru |
Introduction
The
tribe Eudamini includes 44 genera in the neotropical region, amongst which are
the Long-tailed Skippers
Urbanus,
Chioides
and
Aguna;
and such familiar genera as
Phocides,
Autochton,
Astraptes
and
Calaenorrhinus.
The
genus Phareas
comprises of a single species
coeleste. The butterfly is found throughout the
Amazonian region.
Habitats
This species is confined to lowland primary rainforest at altitudes from sea
level to about 800m.
Lifecycle
Unknown.
Adult behaviour
The
Scorching Sapphire is a very elusive species, which is found in
association with ant birds. Flocks of the birds follow ant swarms
as they migrate across the forest, feeding on insects disturbed by
the marauding ants. The butterflies in turn follow the ant birds,
feeding on their droppings, from which they obtain vital
alkaloids. Once a butterfly has located a fresh dropping, it will
return to it many times over a period of an hour or so.
The butterfly has an incredibly
fast and agile flight. It is normally seen as a brilliant flash of
blue, scorching a tortuous route in and out amongst the rainforest
trees at a pace so fast that it is difficult to comprehend how it can
do so without colliding with something.
On each sortie the butterfly
covers a distance of about 50 metres, and abruptly lands on the
leaf of a tree, typically at a height of about 4 metres. There it
will bask for two or three minutes with wings fully outspread,
before shooting off on another sortie.
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