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No Common Name (Hamadryas fornax [Hübner])
Wing span:
Identification: Underside of forewing is brown with white spots and a red bar in the cell; hindwing is yellow-orange with a few white spots in a brown marginal patch.
Life history: Eggs are laid in strings of 5-10 on the underside of host plant leaves. Caterpillars live and feed communally. Males appear to be territorial and make cracking sounds when they fly toward each other. Adults perch on tree trunks head downward with their wings spread open. Just before dark, adults perch communally on a single tree, then disperse to roost in nearby trees or shrubs.
Flight: Many flights all year in Mexico.
Caterpillar hosts: Vine Dalechampia in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae).
Adult food: Rotting fruit and other non-floral resources.
Habitat: Along trails and openings in wet tropical forests.
Range: Bolivia and Brazil north through Central America to Mexico. A rare stray to the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.
Conservation: Not required for a rare stray.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management needs: None reported.
References:
DeVries, P. J. 1987. The butterflies of Costa Rica and their natural history.
Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae. Princeton University Press, Princeton,
New Jersey. 327 pages, 50 color plates.
Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies. Peterson
field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages, 48 color plates.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press,
Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
State and Regional References:
Neck, R.W. 1996. A Field Guide to Butterflies of Texas. Gulf Publishing Co.,
Houston, Texas.
Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised
edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies.
Privately published, Denver, Colo.
Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Tveten, J. and Tveten, G. 1996. Butterflies of Houston & Southeast Texas.
Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, TX. 292 pp.
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