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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
White-spot Falcon
Corades medeba
HEWITSON, 1850
Family -
NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
SATYRINAE
Tribe - SATYRINI
subtribe -
PRONOPHILINA
Corades medeba, Manu
cloudforest, Madre de Dios, Peru
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 hindwings 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
medeba occurs in
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Habitats
This species inhabits Andean cloudforests at elevations between about
1800-2400m.
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.
Corades medeba, Manu
cloudforest, Madre de Dios, Peru
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are encountered singly, usually as males attending
dung, or imbibing moisture at the edge of roadsides. At such times
they remain largely oblivious of any threats, even allowing
vehicles to park within a metre or so without attempting to take
flight. If deliberately molested they fly up, but settle very
close by, usually on ferns or the foliage of bushes.
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