Tithorea tarricina

Tithorea tarricina


Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Tribe:	Ithomiini
Subtribe:	Tithoreina
Genus:	Tithorea
Species:	T. tarricina
Binomial name
*Tithorea tarricina* Hewitson, 1858
Synonyms
Tithorea duenna Bates, 1864 Tithorea anachoreta Thieme, 1903 Tithorea pinthias Godman & Salvin, 1878 Tithorea monosticta Godman & Salvin, 1897 Hirsutis pinthias f. macasica Niepelt, 1915 Tithorea pinthias melini Bryk, 1953

The Tarricina Longwing, Variable Presonian,^[1] or Cream-spotted Tigerwing (Tithorea tarricina) is a species of butterflies belonging to the Nymphalidae family.

Description

The golden chrysalis of Tithorea tarricina

Tithorea tarricina has a wingspan reaching about 75–80 millimetres (3.0–3.1 in), with a forewing of about 40 millimetres (1.6 in). The pattern of the wings is quite variable. Usually the dorsal sides of the forewings are black with white spots, while the hindwings are orange with black margins. The underside are similar, with many small white spots along the black margins. The antennae are black. The beautiful chrysalides are completely golden.

Distribution

This quite uncommon species is present in Mexico and in Central and South America.

Habitat

Tithorea tarricina can be found at the edges of forested areas in lowlands and mountain slopes, at an elevation up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level. The host plants are in the genus Prestonia (mainly Prestonia longifolia and Prestonia portabellensis – Apocynaceae family).

Subspecies

The following subspecies are recognised:^[2]

T. t. bonita Haensch, 1903 (Ecuador, Peru)
T. t. duenna Bates, 1864 (Mexico to Guatemala)
T. t. franciscoi Brown, 1977 (Venezuela)
T. t. hecalesina C. & R. Felder, 1865 (Colombia)
T. t. lecromi Vitale & Rodriguez, 2004 (Colombia)
T. t. parola Godman & Salvin, 1898 (Colombia)
T. t. pinthias Godman & Salvin, 1878 (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua)
T. t. tagarma Hewitson, 1874 (Bolivia, Peru)
T. t. tarricina Hewitson, 1858 (Colombia)

References

Wikispecies has information related to: Tithorea tarricina

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tithorea tarricina.

↑ Glassberg, Jeffrey. (2007). A Swift Guide to Butterflies of Mexico and Central America. Sunstreak Books Inc. p.144.
↑ Tithorea tarricina, at funet.fi

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, November 08, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.