Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Tailed Sulphur
Phoebis
neocypris rurina
FELDER & FELDER, 1861
Family - PIERIDAE
subfamily -
COLIADINAE
Phoebis neocypris rurina,
male, Santa Elena, Venezuela
©
Peter Bruce-Jones
Introduction
The
genus Phoebis comprises 8 species, most of which
are strongly migratory in behaviour, and are widely distributed in the
neotropical region, although avellaneda is found
only in Cuba, editha is restricted to Haiti, and
bourkei occurs only in Ecuador.
Phoebis
neocypris is found from Mexico to Peru. The illustrated subspecies
rurina occurs in Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and
Colombia.
Habitats
As with
other Phoebis species,
neocypris is highly migratory in
behaviour and can thus be found in a wide variety of habitats
including primary and secondary rainforest, deciduous woodland,
scrubby grassland and farmland; at altitudes between sea level and about
1000m.
Phoebis neocypris rurina,
male, Satipo, Peru
Lifecycle
The eggs
are yellow and laid singly on young leaves of
Cassia ( Caesalpinaceae ). The
caterpillars are yellowish green and covered with tiny black and
blue tubercles.
Adult behaviour
Males are usually seen in lower
numbers than sennae or
argante, but can often be found
amongst mud-puddling aggregations of other
Phoebis species. These insects often form very tightly packed
groups of dozens of
individuals. If alarmed the entire group erupts spontaneously into the air
and swirls about for several minutes afterwards in a
seething mass of fluttering yellow wings.
The paler females are seen less
often, and are usually observed in flight, or when nectaring at
red
flowers such as Lantana and
Impatiens. There is no courtship
ritual - the females are intercepted in mid-flight and forced to
the ground where copulation takes place immediately.
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