Marpesia eleuchea
Encyclopedia
The Antillean Daggerwing (Marpesia eleuchea) is a species of butterfly
of the Nymphalidae
family. It is found in the West Indies. Occasional strays can be found on Florida Keys
.
The wingspan
is 67-83 mm. Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, including Tournefortia
, Cordia
, Lantana
, and Eupatorium
species.
The larva
e feed on Ficus
species.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...
family. It is found in the West Indies. Occasional strays can be found on Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 67-83 mm. Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, including Tournefortia
Tournefortia
Tournefortia, commonly known as Soldierbush, is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae.It was first published under the name Pittonia by Charles Plumier in 1703, in honour of Joseph Pitton de Tournefort...
, Cordia
Cordia
Cordia is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, which are found worldwide mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while bocote may refer to several Central American species in Spanish...
, Lantana
Lantana
Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region. The genus includes both...
, and Eupatorium
Eupatorium
Eupatorium is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, containing from 36 to 60 species depending on the classification system. Most are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 0.5–3 m tall. A few are shrubs. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere....
species.
The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e feed on Ficus
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
species.
Subspecies
- Marpesia eleuchea eleuchea (Cuba)
- Marpesia eleuchea bahamensis Munroe, 1971 (Bahamas)
- Marpesia eleuchea dospassosi Munroe, 1971 (Dominican Republic)
- Marpesia eleuchea pellenis (Godart, [1824]) (Antilles)