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There are 3 species in this genera namely huebneri, laothoe and pulchra.. They are closely related to Epiphile and Nica -only distinguished by the larval morphology.
They live in rain and cloud forest and the larvae feed from plants in the sapindaceae family.
Temenis laothoe
Temenis laothoe
Tomato butterfly
Tomato butterfly
Peru
w 35mm
m a1 £ 3
m a1 £ 3
This has 2 forms , the common type shown here, and the far rarer violetta -which is truly beautiful -shame I don't have one!
They often rest on foliage at 2-3 metres and settle with the wings three quarters open.
Temenis pulchra
Temenis pulchra
Scarlet knight
Scarlet knight
Peru
M A1 £ 3.50
M A1 £ 3.50
This is a lovely butterfly, the hindwings are overlaid by a shimmering iridescent purple blue sheen.
The female is rarely seen , and has several forms including one were it looks very similar to the male but with orange bands, or only one orange band and a blue spot on the hind wing.
The males spend most of their time high in the canopy.
The wing pattern of black with red bands is common in neotropical butterflies and probably represents Batesian or Mullerian mimicry , as they often contain noxious compounds (taken in from plants when larvae) making them distasteful to predators.
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