Philaethria dido

Philaethria dido (Philaethria dido)

Phylum — arthropoda
Class — insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family — nymphalidae

Genus – philaethria

Appearance

The larva is pale green with reddish spines along the back and sides.

The butterflies have a wingspan of about 110 mm (4.3 in). The upper surface of the wings is black patterned with translucent green patches. The underside is similar with some brown streaks with gray scales.

Habitat

Philaethria dido is found from Mexico to the southern Amazon.

Behavior

Philaethria dido demonstrates daily activity. Butterflies are poisonous. This butterfly's flight is fast and direct and it mainly flits through the canopy and along the courses of streams, but it may also be seen in clearings and sunlit glades.

As with most butterfly species, the behavior of males and females differs greatly. The females are seen more frequently, flitting and gliding at a height of about 4 meters, and occasionally descending to examine low growing Passiflora plants at light gaps in the forest.

Males are more elusive but occasionally descend from the canopy to imbibe mineral-rich moisture from river beaches or from places where streams ford forest roads. At these times they are quite approachable, but flutter constantly as they move about probing the ground for nutrients. They are only active in hot sunny conditions and quickly return to the canopy if cloud obscures the sun.

Diet

The caterpillars feed on the leaves of the passionflower.

Adult Philaethria dido feed on nectar that they get from the flowers of forest trees such as Cissus.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm The eggs are laid on the under sides of the leaves on species including Passiflora laurifolia, P. vitifolia, P. edulis, and P. ambigua. Eggs are elongated and yellow. It is better to keep the caterpillars in terrariums for 6-8 insects, placing a pot with a forage plant in it. Temperature in the terrarium is 22-25 ^oC at the humidity of 65-75%. The pupa resembles a bird dropping. It is pale brown, mottled with grey and covered with tiny warts. Butterflies live for about a month.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours. You can feed butterflies with honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10.