Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
White-banded Mountain Satyr
Lymanopoda albocincta
HEWITSON, 1861
Family -
NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
SATYRINAE
Tribe - SATYRINI
subtribe -
PRONOPHILINA
Lymanopoda albocincta,
Ecuador ©
Tony Hoare
Introduction
There are 1100
known species of Satyrinae in the neotropical region. About 570 of these are
placed in the
subtribe Pronophilina - a diverse group of high altitude
cloudforest butterflies, all of which are confined to the neotropical region. The vast majority
are found only in the Andes, but 4 species are known from
the Atlantic cloudforests of Brazil, and there are a further 6 species that are endemic to Guatemala, Costa
Rica or Mexico. More oddly there is one genus
Calisto
that is found exclusively on the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Hispaniola.
The
genus
Lymanopoda is comprised of 57 small species. Many have small white spots arranged in a characteristic
undulating line across the wings. In some species such as
labda
and
lebbaea
there are beautiful marbled white markings on the underside hindwings.
This species belongs to a
small subgroup within the genus
Lymanopoda,
which differ from the majority in being slightly larger, and with more rounded
wings, but most notably by the presence of a series of large and prominent pure
white spots which run in a slightly undulating line across the under surface of
both wings. This sub-group includes
apulia, albomaculata, albocincta
and affineola.
Lymanopoda albocincta
occurs in Colombia and Ecuador.
Habitats
This is a cloudforest species, found at altitudes between
about 1600-2400m.
Lifecycle
The lifecycle appears to be unrecorded.
The following
generalisations are applicable to the subtribe Pronophilina and probably also apply to
Lymanopoda:
The
eggs are round, white or pale greenish white, and laid singly on the foodplants or on surrounding vegetation. The
larvae are typically pale brown, marked along the back and sides with narrow dark
stripes, and tapering towards each end. The head is large in
proportion to the body and has two short forward-pointing horns. The tip of the
abdomen is equipped with a pair of caudal prongs which are used to flick the frass away
from the feeding area.
The
larvae of all known Pronophilina feed on
Chusquea
- a genus of bamboo which grows in thickets, mainly along the courses of
streams.
Adult behaviour
Males are usually seen singly.
They are usually seen in the company of
Perisama
and
Manerebia species, imbibing
mineral-rich moisture from road surfaces or the edges of rocky
streams.
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