Hamadryas februa

Hamadryas februa(Hamadryas februa)

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

Genus –hamadryas

Appearance

The wingspan is 70–86 mm. The upperside is mottled brown and white although there is some red in the forewing cell bar. The hindwing eyespots have orange scales preceding black crescents. The underside of the hindwings is white and the submarginal eyespots are composed of a brown ring around a black crescent in a white center.

Habitat

It is found from Argentina north through tropical America to Mexico.

Behavior

Hamadryas februa is often seen basking on tree trunks, adopting a head-downward posture, with the wings flattened against the bark. Males bask in this position for long periods to await potential mates. They commonly settle at a height of about 2m but if disturbed immediately take flight. After a few seconds they resettle, usually higher up on the same tree trunk. They remain there until the threat passes, and then descend the tree trunk in a series of short flights, dropping lower each time until after several minutes they resume their original position.

The butterflies are active from sunrise to sunset, and are rarely seen away from tree trunks, but also sometimes bask on rock faces or tree foliage.

Larvae are solitary and build resting platforms out of dung pellets.

Diet

The larvae feed on Dalechampia and Tragia species. Adults feed on sap and rotting fruit.

Reproduction

The eggs are white and laid singly on Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae). Eggs are laid on thin threads on the underside of the leaf, usually in chains of about a dozen in each.

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. Forage plants for caterpillars in the terrarium should be replaced every 3-4 days.It is better to keep the caterpillars in mesh terrariums of 6-8 pieces.In the terrarium, you need to place a branch of a forage plant.The temperature in the terrarium is 23-25 ^oC at the humidity of65-75%.

In captivity

The mesh cage 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 the butterflies with an overripe banana or a syrup of honey diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10.