Helm's butterfly

Helm's butterfly
Upperside
Underside
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Tribe: Satyrini
Genus: Dodonidia
Butler, 1884
Species: D. helmsii
Binomial name
Dodonidia helmsii
Butler, 1884[1]

Helm's butterfly or the forest ringlet butterfly (Dodonidia helmsii) is a rare butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, endemic to New Zealand. It is the only species in the genus Dodonidia.

It feeds on Gahnia spp. and is found mainly in beech (Nothofagus spp.) forest. It has become more endangered due to the rarity of its food plant and the introduction of predatory wasps to New Zealand that prey on their larvae.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helm's butterfly.
Wikispecies has information related to: Helm's butterfly
  1. Dodonidia, funet.fi


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