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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Aristotle's Skipper
Sophista aristoteles
WESTWOOD,
1852
Family - HESPERIIDAE
subfamily -
PYRGINAE
Tribe - PYRGINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
Sophista aristoteles, Rio Madre de
Dios, Peru
Introduction
This
attractive and unusually marked Skipper is impossible to mistake for any other
species. It is one of only 2 members of the genus Sophista,
the other being latifasciata. In the latter the
wings are far more rounded, and the white bar on the forewing extends to reach
the costa.
Sophista aristoteles is distributed from Venezuela
to Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.
Habitats
The butterfly is found in primary rainforest at altitudes between about
200-1800m.
Lifecycle
The lifecycle appears to be unknown. Generally, Pyrgine
butterflies lay their eggs singly on either the upperside or underside of
leaves. The larvae are typically dull green or brownish, with thin longitudinal
lines along the back and sides, and with black shiny heads. They feed typically
on herbaceous plants, but a small percentage feed on the leaves of
bushes or trees. The pupae are usually dark and smooth, with the wing cases in a
contrasting tone or colour. They are normally formed within silken tents formed
by spinning together the leaves of the foodplant.
Adult behaviour
My
only observations of this species have been of singletons imbibing
moisture from rocky substrates. In Venezuela I found the species
flying around bushes and settling to drink from the edge of
puddles that formed on silicaceous rocks at Jasper Falls, Gran
Sabana. In Peru I found it drinking from wet gravel on the bed of
a small shallow stream that fed into the Rio Madre de Dios.
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