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Overview
Brief Summary
Introduction
A monotypic genus distributed throughout the continental neotropics. The genus is recognized by having shorter and broader wings than other heliconiines, comparatively short antennae, and an androconical patch in the males.
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Comprehensive Description
Habits
Dryadula is an inhabitant of disturbed areas in the lowlands, and it is hardly ever found in association with forest and occurs infrequently from sea level to 1,200 m. Sporadically found to roost gregariously at night (DeVries, 1981).
Hostplant: Dryadula larvae feed primarily on plants from the subgenus Distephana and Granadilla (Passifloraceae)(Brown, 1981). In Costa Rica larvae feed on Passiflora talamacensis (Passifloraceae) (DeVries, 1997).
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Characteristics
Early stages: Eggs are yellow and approximately 1.7 x 1.1 mm (h x w). Females place eggs singly mostly on leaves, and on the base of the stem of the host plant (Brown, 1981). The larvae are almost unicolored, spiny and gregarious feeders. Mature larvae are dull purple with many short bristly spines; head capsule dark purple with two semi-knobbed head horns (DeVries, 1997).
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Barcode data: Dryadula phaetusa
There are 9 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank. Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species. See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Download FASTA File
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
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Statistics of barcoding coverage: Dryadula phaetusa
Public Records: 9
Species: 15
Species With Barcodes: 1
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
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Wikipedia
Dryadula phaetusa
Dryadula phaetusa, also known as the Banded Orange Heliconian, Banded Orange, or Orange Tiger, is a species of butterfly (an insect). The sole representative of its genus, the Banded Orange Heliconian is native from Brazil to central Mexico, and in summer it can be found rarely as far north as central Kansas. Its wingspan ranges from 86 to 89 mm, and it is colored a bright orange with thick black stripes in males, and a duller orange with fuzzier black stripes in females.
It feeds primarily on the nectar of flowers and bird droppings, and its caterpillar feeds on passion vines including Passiflora tetrastylis. It is generally found in lowland tropical fields and valleys.
This species is somewhat unpalatable to birds and belongs to the "orange" Batesian mimicry complex [1].
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Symbiosis
Prior to their mating season, males of this species congregate by the hundreds on patches of moist soil that contain mineral salts. When they cannot find such deposits, the insects visit various animals to drink salty secretions from their skin and nostrils [2].
Taxonomy
The genus Dryadula Michner, 1942, is monotypic, and the type species is Papilio phaetusa Linnaeus, 1758 (Syst. Nat. 10 ed., 1: 478). The type locality, given as "Indiis", is supposed to refer to the West Indies or northern South America.
References
- ^ Pinheiro, Carlos E. G. Palatability and escaping ability in Neotropical butterflies: tests with wild kingbirds (Tyrannus melancholicus, Tyrannidae). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 59(4): 351–365. HTML abstract
- ^ Richard Milner, Natural History (1999) 108(7) pp.84–5
- Dryadula phaetusa, Butterflies of North America, from the United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.
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Wikipedia
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