Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Silky Wanderer
Leptophobia eleone
DOUBLEDAY,
1847
Family -
PIERIDAE
subfamily -
PIERINAE
Leptophobia
eleone, Manu cloudforest, 1700m, Peru
Introduction
In the
neotropical region there are a total of 192 representatives of the subfamily
Pierinae.
The genus
Leptophobia comprises of 20 currently known species.
Three of these have only recently been discovered (
2000-2003 ) and are as yet unnamed.
Most
Leptophobia species have a white or creamy ground
colour but a few including the typical form of eleone
are bright primrose yellow. The pale cream form of eleone
illustrated here is unusual.
All
Leptophobia species have black markings on the
upperside but these vary in extent from species to species.
The underside hindwings are yellow in
caesia, bright reflective silver in penthica,
dull brown in cinerea, and a silky
greenish white in eleone.
All Leptophobia are high altitude species, and are
variously distributed from Costa Rica to Bolivia and Argentina.
Leptophobia eleone is found from Colombia to
Bolivia.
Habitats
This
is a cloudforest species found in the vicinity of streams and small rivers at
altitudes of between about 1000-2400 metres. The butterflies fly throughout the
year.
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Leptophobia
eleone, Manu cloudforest, 1700m, Peru |
Lifecycle
I have no
data regarding eleone, but
other Leptophobia species are known to use
Capparidaceae, Brassicaceae and Tropaeolaceae as larval foodplants. These plants
contain mustard oils so it seems likely that the larvae would be noxious to
birds, and that these properties are transmitted to the adult butterflies.
The eggs are
spindle-shaped, yellowish in colour, and laid either singly or in clusters of up
to 20, according to species. The caterpillars are green, sometimes with blue or
orange markings, and are slightly hairy. They live gregariously in groups of
mixed instars. It is interesting also to note that according to DeVries the
larvae are able to walk on the surface film of water.
Adult behaviour
The
butterflies are usually encountered singly in the vicinity of streams and
waterfalls. They fly low over the ground with a rapid erratic
zigzag flight. Males imbibe mineralised moisture from seepages, road surfaces
and the shores of shallow streams.
Both sexes visit Lantana,
Impatiens, Nasturtium and various other
flowers for nectar.
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