Lovely Lepidoptera
Photos of insects within the Order Lepidoptera. Lepidoptera includes species of butterflies and moths.
Flown Kimmerling created this list 7 years ago
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Dark Evening Brown (Melanitis phedima) -
Eastern Tent Caterpillar - Malacosoma americanum -
Eastern Tent Caterpillar - Malacosoma americanum -
Polygonia c-album -
Harlequin - Taxila haquinus palawanicus -
Striped Blue Crow - Euploea mulciber paupera -
Melitaea athalia -
White-dotted Prominent - Nadata gibbosa -
Phoebis philea philea ♂ - Orange-Barred Sulphur / Borboleta-Gema (C. Linnaeus, 1763) -
Butterfly -
Tiny Emerald - Maxates centrophylla -
Confused Eusarca Moth (Eusarca confusaria) -
Tyria jacobaeae, caterpillar -
![Thysania zenobia - Mariposa-Coruja / Owl Moth / Owlet Moth (Cramer, 1776) Lepidoptera: Bombycina: Noctuoidea: Erebidae: Erebinae: Thermesiini
Another picture: https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62098/thysania_zenobia_-_mariposa-coruja_owl_moth_owlet_moth_cramer_1776.html
And another:
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62097/thysanura_4-2.html
More pictures here: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1716585039
Location: Brazil, Ceará, Fortaleza (Lat: -3.75, Long: -38.51, 16th floor of a flat in an urban habitat)
Date: 10th of May, 2018 at 07:52:23pm.
Thysania zenobia is an uncommon moth in the order Lepidoptera, subdivision Bombycina, superfamily Noctuoidea, family Erebidae, subfamily Erebinae and tribe Thermesiini. This is a male. The name "Thysania" comes from the Greek, "Thysanus", meaning "a fringe", and "Zeno" means "Zenon", derived from the theonym "Zeus".
According to Butterflies and Moths (https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Thysania-zenobia):
Males can be distinguished from females through the observation of the forewings' stripe going from one end of the forewings to the other; this is absent in females. BugGuide states that males are more boldly marked (source at the end). They possess many zig-zag lines on all wings. Their hindwings are scalloped with grey outer margins of the forewings. Thysania zenobia are huge moths with a wingspan that ranges from 10 to 15cm. Thysania agrippina, another species of Thysania, are considered the largest moths wingspan-wise in the Americas, with a whopping 30cm wingspan. According to an unreliable source, Thysania agrippina has the most potent sense of smell in nature (http://www.rankbrasil.com.br/Recordes/Materias/0Laa/Maior_Mariposa_Do_Brasil) - Disconsider the picture; part of the information in there might be wrong).
A synonym is: Phalaena zenobia (Cramer, [1777]).
The moth is grey with, usually, blueish markings on the upperside of the wings (perhaps purple as well?) and an orangeish-red or brownish-cream underside. The antennae are setaceous and are dark brown. The thorax and the abdomen are dorsally grey, with a tuft of black hairs standing between them. Their palps are a shade of red with brown extremities. Their legs are both red and dark brown. The upperside of the forewings of my individual has a black stripe going from one end of the wings to the other; a second black stripe can be seen just a little below the first's middle, inclining towards the first when reaching the edges. The whole upperside of the wings is painted in many zig-zag lines, spots (such as the spot near the anterior margin of the forewings) and more irregular spots can be seen near the anterior margin of the upperside of the forewings. The upperside of the hindwings is grey with tones reaching up to a hue of brown. Their eyes are very large and compound. The underside of the wings has a bean-like spot near the anterior margin of the forewings. The underside of the wings are greyish-red with multiple black lines running paralleled with the edges of the wings and regularly placed one above the other. The third black line of the forewing's underside gets thicker as it reaches the anterior margin.
Thysania zenobia is native to Eastern North America, Central America, and ranges South at least to the Southeastern-most Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is also found on the larger Caribbean Islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. It is also found on Bermuda and the Galapagos Islands. No records seem to exist in the West of Texas and in Hawaii.
They seem to migrate North in September and October, with some records showing that they migrate North as early as late June. (http://texasento.net/zenobia.htm)
Their Hodges Number is 8647 with a phylogenetic sequence of #930758.
The known host plants of Thysania zenobia's larvae are Senna sp. (Mill.) (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae: Cassieae: Cassiinae) ("senna") and Cassia sp. (L.) (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae: Cassieae: Cassiinae) ("cassia"). (https://bugguide.net/node/view/6017), more precisely these ones:
Senna bicapsularis (L.) Roxb.
Cassia ferruginea ((Schrader) Schrader ex DC.)
Cassia fistulosa (L. ex Long & Lakela)
Cassia imperialis (Hort.)
This is the larva of Thysania zenobia:
1 - http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/Wadults/resultsallphoto.lasso?photocode dotj=DHJ9576.j - Head and thorax dorsally.
2 - http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/Wadults/photopage.lasso?photocode dotj=DHJ9577.j - Lateral view of the body.
3 - http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/Wadults/resultsallphoto.lasso?photocode dotj=DHJ9580.j - Ventral view of the abdomen.
The last larval instar seems to have a length of approximately 68mm.
I could find no information on the adult's host plants.
You can find an interactive map to their distribution here: http://texasento.net/Zen_map.htm
Another source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thysania_zenobia
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thysania_zenobia
https://bugguide.net/node/view/156381 Animalia,Arthropoda,Brazil,Erebid moth,Erebidae,Erebinae,Geotagged,Insecta,Insects,Lepidoptera,Moth,Noctuoidea,Owl Moth,South America,Thermesiini,Thysania,Thysania zenobia,brazilian moths,heterocera,insect](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3305/62099_small.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=9XKIY4g0KEqHxLanVchVQf6SQWw%3D)
Thysania zenobia - Mariposa-Coruja / Owl Moth / Owlet Moth (Cramer, 1776) -
Pondside Pyralid Moth - Elophila icciusalis -
Longhorn Moth - Male, Heeswijk-Dinther, Netherlands -
Silver-Spotted Skipper - Epargyreus clarus -
Spotted Tiger Moth, Amata pfeifferae -
Monarch Caterpillar - Danaus plexippus -
![Junonia cf. evarete ssp. - Olho-de-Pavão-Diurno / Mangrove Buckeye / West Indian Buckeye / Tropical Buckeye (Cramer, 1779 - [1779]?) Lepidoptera: Bombycina: Papilionoidea: Nymphalidae: Nymphalinae: Junoniini
Sex: ♀ (requires confirmation)
Date: 20th of May, 2018 at 10:54:29am
Location: Brazil, Ceará, Fortaleza, Trilha do Parque do Cocó
Other picture:
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/61992/junonia_cf._evarete_ssp._-_olho-de-pavo-diurno_mangrove_buckeye_west_indian_buckeye_tropical_buckeye_cramer_1779_-_1779.html
Junonia evarete is a butterfly in the order Lepidoptera, subdivision Rhopalocera, superfamily Papilionoidea, family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae and tribe Junoniini.
There is no way for me to affirm this is a Junonia evarete, mainly because the only way to differentiate a Junonia evarete from Junonia genoveva is to look at the ventral portion of the antennae. In J. evarete, the tip of the females' antennae is normally pale but can vary between a light grey and dark grey and is uniform with the rest of the antenna. In J. genoveva the ventral surface of the tip of the antennae is dark; brown or black, and contrasts with the lighter color of the inferior areas of the antennae. In J. genoveva the tip of the antennae is similar between males and females; usually dark. The only safe way of differenciating J. evarete from J. genoveva is by checking the ventral area of the antennae (Andrew Neild) (http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/Andes - Junonia genoveva.htm).
The photography was taken in a dorsal view, but the left antenna (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BBJXwl56kHU/WywFTUwLLDI/AAAAAAAA5C4/eXpKBGvG1_oAOuGCaSUYoqrLuCwS69CjQCLcBGAs/s1600/Junonia_Oscar3.jpg)
Was noted by Cesar of Insetologia:
(https://www.insetologia.com.br/2018/06/borboleta-junonia-no-ceara.html) to be slightly twisted and showing a part of the ventral surface, which inclines the identification towards J. evarete more than to J. genoveva, but there is no certainty as the other antenna seems to be a tad less saturated.
They possess characteristic eye spots on the wings, which have a span ranging from 4,5 to 6,5cm. The eyes are there as a defensive mechanism against predation, especially against birds. These spots might also serve as a mechanism to fool predators, which may attack the eyes on the wings instead of attacking more vital parts of the butterfly.
If this is a J. evarete, both sexes are very similar. Males tend to stay perched onto vegetation or on the soil waiting for receptive females all day long. The eggs are oviposited individually on the plants and the solitary larvae will feed on the leaves. Adults are nectarivorous. They inhabit the tropical plains, bushy and weedy areas, islands, primary and secundary forests, urbanized and suburbanized habitats and swamps. Their distribution status is still discussed, but it seems that they have a wider distribution than J. genoveva. They are known to occur from South of North America to South America, occurring also on the Caribbean Islands, such as Cuba and Jamaica.
The host plants of the J. evarete include:
Stemodia sp. (L.) (Plantaginaceae (ex: Scrophulariaceae): Gratioloideae: Gratioleae) ("twintip" is the common name for several species)
Lippia sp. (L.) (Verbenaceae: Verbenoidae)
Ruellia sp. (L.) (Acanthaceae: Acanthoideae: Ruellieae)
Laguncularia sp. (C.F.Gaertn. 1807) (Combretaceae: Combretoideae: Laguncularieae) ("white mangrove")
Bidens alba ((L.) DC.) and possibly other Bidens sp. (L.) (Asteraceae: Asteroideae: Coreopsideae) ("beggarticks")
and
Stachytarpheta sp. (Vahl), especially Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) (Verbenaceae) ("porterweed" / "blue porterweed").
- It is very likely and possible that there are many more host plants.
Adults' wings have a brown upperside with a wide, diffused, white with brown or orange forewing band. The median band is fairly straight and the underside of the wings is brown. They have eye spots on the wings that occur mainly near the edges of the wings. J. evarete, along with J. genoveva, possess many subspecies and variations, making it even harder to identify them. According to informal sources I could find, the males of J. evarete, as well as J. genoveva, tend to have a blueish hue on the hindwings, but I can't seem to find reliable informations on this. If this is true, then my specimen is a female.
They are multivoltine and adults can be found throughout the year. They are very active and wary, and will take flight at the slightest provocation.
Other sources:
http://www.butterfliesofcuba.com/junonia-evarete---mangrove-buckeye.html
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/junonia-evarete
http://brasilesuafauna.blogspot.com/2017/01/junonia-evarete.html
http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/nymphalinae/junonia/#evarete
http://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/junonia_g_genoveva.ht
http://tolweb.org/Junonia_evarete/93981 Animal Kingdom,Animalia,Arthropoda,Borboletas do Brasil,Brazil,Butterfly,Insecta,Insects,Junonia evarete,Junonia genoveva,Olho-de-Pavão-Diurno,South America,Tropical Buckeye,West Indian buckeye,animal,animals,butterflies,fauna,inseto,mangrove buckeye](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3305/61993_small.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=m%2FZichvuFwQ4PMZ9vOhEAbOG1zo%3D)
Junonia cf. evarete ssp. - Olho-de-Pavão-Diurno / Mangrove Buckeye / West Indian Buckeye / Tropical Buckeye (Cramer, 1779 - [1779]?) -
Carolina Satyr (Hermeuptychia sosybius) -
Carolina Satyr (Hermeuptychia sosybius) -
Large Lace Border Moth (Scopula limboundata) -
Gypsy Moth Caterpillar - Lymantria dispar