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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of the Andes
 
White-spot Falcon
Corades medeba  HEWITSON, 1850
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily - SATYRINAE
Tribe - SATYRINI
subtribe - PRONOPHILINA
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Corades medeba, Manu cloudforest, Madre de Dios, Peru
 
Introduction
 
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, but the following generalisations are applicable to the subtribe Pronophilina, and probably apply also to Corades :
 
The eggs are usually white or pale greenish white, spherical, and laid singly either on the foodplants or on surrounding vegetation.
 
The caterpillars are typically pale brown, marked on the back and sides with longitudinal dark lines, and taper towards both ends. The head is large in proportion to the body, and has two short forward-pointing horns. The tip of the abdomen has a pair of caudal forks, used to flick the frass ( droppings ) away from the feeding area.
 
The caterpillars 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.

 

 

 
 
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
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