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Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
False Daggerwing
Hypanartia
dione
LATREILLE, 1819
Family -
NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
NYMPHALINAE
Tribe - NYMPHALINI
Hypanartia
dione, Manu cloudforest, 2600m, Peru
Introduction
The
tribe Nymphalini includes many of the most well known and beautiful Palaearctic
Nymphalines, e.g. the Red Admiral
Vanessa atalanta,
the Comma
Polygonia c-album,
the Painted Ladies
Vanessa
sp, the Camberwell Beauty / Mourning Cloak
Nymphalis antiopa,
and the Peacock
Inachis io.
In the neotropics the tribe is represented by the genera
Nymphalis,
Polygonia,
Vanessa
and
Hypanartia.
The genus Hypanartia
includes 14 species. They occur primarily in temperate regions of the
Andes and the Cordilleras of Central America. Some species,
e.g. splendida
and dione
bear similarities to Marpesia
Daggerwings, but can be distinguished from them by the presence of prominent
white spots or dashes in the median and apical areas of the forewings, and by
the angular apex.
Hypanartia dione
occurs from Guatemala to to southern Peru.
Hypanartia dione, Manu cloudforest, 2600m, Peru
Habitats
This is butterfly of the higher cloudforest regions, found at altitudes between
about 1400-2700m.
Lifecycle
The early stages appear to be unknown. The
following applies in general to butterflies in the genus
Hypanartia
:
The eggs are pale in
colour, and
laid singly on the leaves of the foodplant.
The larvae are
typically dark and adorned with branched spikes. They live solitarily within a tent of leaves spun together with silk.
The chrysalis is formed
within the larval tent. In most Hypanartia
species it is greyish, marked on the thorax with silver or gold spots.
Hypanartia dione, Satipo, Peru
Adult behaviour
Males habitually visit runnels and seepages along roadsides, and
the wet rocky edges of mountain streams. They flit nervously from
spot to spot until they find a patch of ground rich in dissolved
minerals, where they drink, while periodically fanning their
wings. After a few moments they usually close the wings, but will
bask with wings outspread if mist or cloud obscures the sunlight.
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