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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Red-banded Altinote
Altinote dicaeus
LATREILLE, 1817
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
HELICONIINAE
Tribe - ACRAEINI
Altinote dicaeus callianira, male,
San Pedro, Madre de Dios, Peru
Introduction
The
tribe Acraeini is primarily African - there are for example 83 species in Kenya,
and about 200 in the whole African continent. There are also a few species in
Asia, and an estimated 55 in the whole of the neotropical region.
In
the neotropics the tribe is represented by 3 genera, most members of which have
a pattern of red or orange-yellow bands on the forewings. The genus Actinote
comprises of thinly scaled species whose wings have a translucent and shiny
appearance. The other 2 genera
Abananote and Altinote,
are heavily scaled and boldly marked.
Altinote
have velvety black wings, banded with bright red, orange or yellow. They are
toxic models which form part of a complex Batesian / Mullerian mimicry ring
involving Heliconius,
Gnathotriche, Eresia,
Castalia and various Ithomiine genera. Altinote
characteristics which in combination make it possible to distinguish them from
other genera include short straight antennae with flattened clubs, and closed
cells on the hindwings. The latter can most easily be seen from the underside.
Altinote
dicaeus is probably
the commonest and most well known species, found in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador,
Venezuela and Colombia.
Habitats
This species occurs in disturbed cloudforest habitats at altitudes between about
1200-1800m. Colonies are localised, and tend to be found in open sunlit
situations, usually along roadsides, or close to farmland.
Lifecycle
I have no information
specific to
dicaeus. The following generalisations are applicable to the genus Altinote
: The eggs are yellowish and barrel-shaped. They are laid in batches of between
50-100 on the foodplants which according to species include
Eupatorium, Vernonia, Mikania
( Asteraceae ) and Boehmeria,
Mikania
( Urticaceae).
The caterpillars are typically dull
greenish or brownish in colour. They are adorned on the back and sides with rows of
short branched blackish spikes which in some species have mildly urticating properties.
They live gregariously until the final instar. The
pupae are whitish or pale yellow, marked with black spots or lines on the
wing-pads and short black spikes on the abdomen. They are suspended from stems
or foliage.
Altinote dicaeus callianira, males,
San Pedro, Madre de Dios, Peru
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are most abundant in the rainy season, when they
can be seen in groups of up to a dozen, visiting flowers, or
flying in the morning sunshine.
The bold patterns, bright colours and slow fluttering flight of
these butterflies suggests that they are "advertising" their toxic properties to escape predation by birds.
Males commonly bask on unsurfaced roads, where they imbibe dissolved
minerals from the damp ground. Once settled on the ground to feed they are exceedingly
reluctant to move - so much so that I've often found aggregations of up to 20
that have been crushed by passing vehicles.
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