Catonephele numilia

Catonephele numilia

Male of Catonephele numilia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Catonephele
Species:	C. numilia
Binomial name
*Catonephele numilia* (Cramer, [1775])^[1]
Synonyms
Papilio numilia Cramer, [1775] Papilio micalia Cramer, 1777 (preocc.) Epicalia esite R. Felder, 1869

The Blue-frosted Banner, Blue-frosted Catone, Grecian Shoemaker, or Stoplight Catone (Catonephele numilia) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family found in Central and South America.

Description

Dorsal view of a female of Catonephele numilia esite

There is sexual dimorphism in the adults, with the males being black with six orange dots on the dorsal surface of the wings, whereas females are black with a light yellow band across the centre of the fore wings. This butterfly usually flies along the ground and close to the ripe fruits and flowers. It can live a month. Adults feed on rotten fruits, while caterpillars feed on Alchornea species (family Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution

Catonephele numilia can be found in most of Central America and South America.

Subspecies

Catonephele numilia numilia (Surinam)
Catonephele numilia penthia (Hewitson, 1852) (Brazil)
Catonephele numilia esite (R. Felder, 1869) (Mexico to Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Trinidad) – synonym of Catonephele numilia penthiana Staudinger, 1886
Catonephele numilia neogermanica Stichel, 1899 (Paraguay, Brazil)
Catonephele numilia immaculata Jenkins, 1985 (Mexico)

Gallery

Male, mounted, upperside
Male, mounted, underside
Female, mounted, upperside
Female, mounted, underside

References

↑ Catonephele, Site of Markku Savela

Tree of Life
DeVries, P.J. (1987) The butterflies of Costa Rica and their natural history, Princeton University Press, Princeton
Lamas, G., Ed. (2004) Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Gainesville, Scientific Publishers/Association of Tropical Lepidoptera.

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Catonephele numilia

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