Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Kollar's Wanderer
Leptophobia penthica
KOLLAR, 1850
Family -
PIERIDAE
subfamily -
PIERINAE
Leptophobia
penthica, Ecuador
© Tony Hoare
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.
All the species have black markings on the
upperside, which vary in extent from species to species -
philoma for example has very broad black borders, with the ground colour
restricted to the base of the wings and a small white apical patch.
The underside hindwings are yellow in
caesia,
dull brown in cinerea,
bright reflective silver in penthica, 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 penthica is found from Colombia and
Venezuela to
Bolivia. There are 9 subspecies.
Habitats
This
is a cloudforest species found in the vicinity of streams and small rivers at
altitudes of between about 800-2600 metres.
Lifecycle
I have no
data regarding penthica 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 can be seen imbibing mineralised moisture from road surfaces
and the edges of mountain streams.
Both sexes visit Lantana,
Impatiens, Nasturtium and various other
flowers for nectar.
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