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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Hopffer's Skipper
Dalla plancus
HOPFFER, 1874
Family -
HESPERIIDAE
subfamily -
HETEROPTERINAE
Tribe -
Dalla
plancus, male, Manu cloudforest, 1700m, Peru
Introduction
The
Chequered Skipper ( aka Arctic Skipper )
Carterocephalus palaemon
is one of only a handful of species in the subfamily Heteropterinae which occur
in the northern hemisphere. The remaining 140 species, including the 95 which
make up the genus
Dalla,
are exclusively neotropical in distribution.
The
various Dalla
species have several characteristics in common - they all have the same wing
shape, and enlarged and hooked antennae clubs. In the majority of species the
upperside wings are blackish brown, marked with small creamy or golden-yellow spots on the
forewings, often with a single larger spot on the hindwings. The upperside pattern
is repeated on the underside, but in more subdued tones.
Dalla
plancus is found in
Bolivia and the eastern Andean slopes of southern Peru.
Habitats
This species inhabits Andean cloudforests at elevations between about
1400-2000m.
Lifecycle
I have no data relating
to the early stages of any
Dalla
species, but it is likely that the lifecycle bears similarities with Carterocephalus.
If this is the case, the eggs are probably globular, pale in colour, and laid
singly on grass blades. The larvae are likely to be green, and marked along the
back and sides with fine dark or pale lines. They almost certainly construct
nests made by rolling a grass blade into a tube, bound together with silk. The
pupae are likely to be formed within a tent of leaves.
Adult behaviour
In flight the
butterflies can easily be mistaken for large flies - the flight is
very rapid, zigzagging and buzzing about just above the surface of
the ground.
Males often congregate with
other Dalla species at
roadside puddles, particularly near habitations.
When feeding, the wings are usually held
outspread or partly open, but when settled on hot paths the
butterflies close their wings as a means of regulating their body
temperatures.
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