Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Carmine Falcon
Corades chelonis
HEWITSON, 1863
Family -
NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
SATYRINAE
Tribe - SATYRINI
subtribe -
PRONOPHILINA
|
 |
|
Corades chelonis, 2700m,
Colombia
©
Blair Wainman |
Introduction
There are 1100
known species of Satyrinae in the neotropical region. About 570 of these are
placed in the
subtribe Pronophilina - a diverse group of high altitude
cloudforest butterflies, all of which are confined to the neotropical region. The vast majority
are found only in the Andes, but 4 species are known from
the Atlantic cloudforests of Brazil, and there are a further 6 species that are endemic to Guatemala, Costa
Rica or Mexico. More oddly there is one genus
Calisto
that is found exclusively on the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Hispaniola.
The
genus Corades
comprises of 23 described species, all denizens of the neotropical cloudforests. The
butterflies are easily recognisable by their large size and very
distinctively shaped hindwings. The pattern on the underside varies
according to species. Many such as
iduna, cybele
and medeba
are a unicolorous brown, peppered and striated with grey and black, while others
including ulema, cystene
and chirone
are beautifully marbled or banded with cream.
Corades chelonis is one of the most beautiful of
the genus. Corades pax is very similar but has an
additional orange spot at the tornus of the forewing.
Both species occur
from
Colombia and Venezuela to Peru.
Habitats
This species inhabits cloudforests at elevations between about 2200-3000m.
Lifecycle
The lifecycle appears to be unrecorded.
The following
generalisations are applicable to the subtribe Pronophilina and are probably applicable to
Corades
:
The
eggs are round, white or pale greenish white, and laid singly on the foodplants or on surrounding vegetation. The
larvae are typically pale brown, marked along the back and sides with narrow dark
stripes, and tapering towards each end. The head is large in
proportion to the body and has two short forward-pointing horns. The tip of the
abdomen is equipped with a pair of caudal prongs which are used to flick the frass away
from the feeding area.
The
larvae of all known Pronophilina feed on
Chusquea - a genus of bamboo which grows in
thickets, mainly along the courses of streams.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are encountered singly, usually observed at rest
on foliage at a height of about 2-3 metres above ground level.
They also imbibe dissolved organic substances from decomposing
vegetation on the forest floor.
|
