Scarce Bamboo Page (Philaethria dido Linnaeus)
Wing span:
Identification: Upperside of both wings black with large patches of translucent green. Underside similar, with gray overscales on the brown areas.
Life history: Eggs are laid singly on the underside of older leaves, which the caterpillars eat. Chrysalids resemble bird droppings. Adults fly above the forest canopy.
Flight: July-December in Mexico.
Caterpillar hosts: Various passion-vines including Passiflora laurifolia, P. vitifolia, P. edulis, and P. ambigua.
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including Cordia curassavica and Cissus.
Habitat: Tropical rain forest.
Range: Brazil north to Mexico; rare stray to the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.
Conservation: Not necessary for rare stray.
Management needs: None reported.
References:
de la Maza Ramirez, R. 1991. Mariposas Mexicanas. Fondo de Cultura Economica, S. A. de C. V. Mexico, D. F. 302 pages, 67 color plates. 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. Smith, D. S., L. D. Miller, and J. Y. Miller. 1994. The butterflies of the West Indies and South Florida. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 264 pages, 32 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann