Butterflies of
the Amazon rainforest
Bates Olivewing
Nessaea batesii
FELDER & FELDER, 1860
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
BIBLIDINAE
Tribe - EPICALIINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Nessaea batesii,
Madre de Dios, Peru |
Introduction
There
are 4 known members of the genus
Nessaea,
namely
aglaura,
batesii,
hewitsonii
and
obrinus,
all of which are confined to the neotropical region.
All of the species have similar undersides. The uppersides of
Nessaea males are very dark brown, with bright sky blue diagonal bands on the forewings. The male of hewitsonii
also has blue markings on the hindwings, but the remaining species including batesii
have orange patches on the hindwings instead. The females of all species
have plain brown hindwings, blue diagonal bands across the forewings, and
elongated reddish spots within the discal cell of the forewings.
Nessaea batesii
is found throughout the Amazonian region from Venezuela and Surinam to
Bolivia.
Habitats
Nessaea are usually seen singly or in two's or three's, and breed in primary
rainforest at altitudes from sea level to about 800m. They are not usually
encountered in secondary forest, and it is very unusual for then to be seen in
open areas, although I have observed males of
Nessaea aglaura
in forest edge habitats and degraded forest in Ecuador.
Lifecycle
The green barrel-shaped eggs are laid singly on
Alchornea
or
Plukenetia leaves ( Euphorbiaceae ).
The
larvae when fully grown are bright green, each segment adorned with enormous
whorled spikes which are amber in colour. If disturbed the larvae wriggle
violently.
The
chrysalis is dark green, and is suspended by the cremaster from the underside of
a leaf.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are usually found as singletons, but it is normal
to see several males and one or two females during an hour long
walk along a narrow forest track in suitable habitat.
If disturbed they
fly very rapidly and with great agility, and resettle a short
distance away, but invariably return to the original spot within a
few minutes. Normally they settle on foliage, at heights between
ground level and 3 metres, and usually close their wings upon
landing. In sunny conditions however they soon open their wings,
and will spend long periods basking on low foliage.
The butterflies
are probably quite long-lived, as it is common to encounter
specimens that are very faded and worn.
They feed at
fallen fruit, and can be baited with plantain. They are also
attracted to mammal dung and urine on forest tracks, but unlike
many other members of the Biblidini they are not attracted to
sunny sandbanks.
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