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Butterflies of
the Amazon rainforest
Queen Flasher
Panacea regina
BATES, 1864
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
BIBLIDINAE
Tribe - AGERONIINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
Panacea
regina, male, Manu, Madre de Dios, Peru
Introduction
The
genus
Panacea
contains 3 known species, all confined to the neotropics. They are all
characterised by having blackish uppersides with extensive iridescent blue /
turquoise markings.
The underside hindwings of all species are reddish. In
Panacea procilla
the hue is dull reddish brown, overlaid with broken wavy black lines and a
series of submarginal ocelli. In
prola
the underside is bright red, and devoid of markings.
The species
featured here -
Panacea regina,
is the largest in the genus and has thin black markings and vague ocelli on the
underside hindwings. It was discovered by the great explorer and naturalist
Henry Walter Bates, and named in honour of Queen Victoria ( Victoria
regina
) in 1864.
It
often shares it's breeding sites with
Panacea prola,
but is usually outnumbered by that species. It differs from prola
on the upperside hindwing in having a row of suffused dark submarginal spots,
and a thin dark wavy line that terminates close to the tornus. There are also
differences in the forewing markings - in
regina
the outer dark median stripe forms a parabolic curve, whereas in prola
it is jagged.
Panacea
regina is distributed
throughout much of the Amazonian region from Colombia to Peru and southern
Brazil.
Panacea
regina ( foreground and far right ) and
Panacea prola ( middle ), Peru
Habitats
Like prola,
this
species appears to be confined to lowland rainforests at altitudes below about
800m.
Lifecycle
The lifecycle and larval
foodplants are apparently unknown.
Panacea
regina, male, Manu, Madre de Dios, Peru
Adult behaviour
The butterflies roost amongst
foliage high in the forest canopy. In the early morning they can
be seen basking on tree trunks at a height of about 10-15 metres,
head downwards, with wings flattened against the bark of the tree.
As temperatures
begin to climb and light levels increase, they gradually descend
to bask at lower points on the trunk, but will fly back to bask
much higher up if disturbed. Later, even the weather remains cool
and overcast, they descend to settle on riverbanks, often settling
on rocks, stones, or logs. Once the butterflies have been on the
ground for a few minutes they become very reluctant to move, and
will remain basking until dusk, even during light showers or
drizzle.
A mixed group of
40 Panacea
prola and Panacea regina,
Rio Madre de Dios, Peru
Males gather in
mixed aggregations with Panacea prola, basking with wings outstretched. They are
constantly alert to intruders, and when
one individual detects a threat from an approaching bird or human,
it responds by fanning it's wings to display the bright red
underside. This acts as a signal to warn it's brethren, who also
start fanning their wings, so that the whole group quickly becomes
alerted to the danger and is ready to fly up into the trees to
escape.
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