This week's butterfly seems to be best known for its near misses. It's called the False Giant and the Little King; its scientific name, Heraclides homothoas, means that it looks like H. thoas; and it just missed being chosen as the national butterfly of Venezuela. If ever a butterfly had an excuse for moping and sulking, "Why not me?", this is the one.
Photo by Kj1453, Costa Rica, December.
Butterflies do not, however, mope. Their fluttering is actually often purposeful and effortful--they are trying to get somewhere, and may not be able to reach their goals easily--but they look as if their lives were all about having fun.
Photo by Jeirortegagalban, Colombia, August. Swallowtails can mate in several different positions, some of which suggest that they may take the time to think about what they're doing enough to enjoy it.
Possibly they knew that anyone who started out looking like this
(Photo from the Museo del Instituto de Zoologia Agricola Francisco Fernandez Yepez)
...and now has fans who like looking at it, has come a long way.
Heraclides homothoas is fairly common across the northern tier of South to South Central America, from Costa Rica through Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad island. It can eat several species of citrus leaves, or leaves of rue or pepper plants.
Photo by Amydeacontt, Trinidad, September. The yellow sections of the wings usually look light yellow, but in some lights some individuals look almost white, while others...
Photo by Joseorlando, Colombia, August.
Rothschild, listing it as a new species in Novitates Zoologicae, described it entirely in relation to H. thoas, while also allowing that it's easily mistaken for North America's H. cresphontes:
The life cycle seems continuous through the year.
Caterpillars have humps, like other Swallowtail larvae, and osmeteria, though they don't seem willing to display their osmeteria. The humps can resemble tiny lizard heads..
Photo by Bellbird20, Trinidad, December. (Bellbird20's attribution highlights a peculiarity of these islands' version of English. Islanders teach their children to give their country's full name as Trinidad AND Tobago even though a city, like Port of Spain, exists on only one island, in this case Trinidad. "Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago" is technically correct though it looks odd to the rest of the world.)
Pupae look a little more like twigs than like bird droppings. A little, not a lot.
Photo from Butterflies of America.
No comments:
Post a Comment