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Larva of the Dirce Beauty

Colobura dirce

Description:

Large last instar larva of the Dirce Beauty. The first 3 rows of urticating spines below the head are white, the rest are yellow. There are white-yellow patches on the sides of the body. Family Nymphalidae.

Habitat:

Tropical forest of the Chiflon Waterfall, below the town of Tzimol, Chiapas, Mexico.

Notes:

See the listed reference for pictures of the adult butterfly.

2 Species ID Suggestions

ZFAaron
ZFAaron 11 years ago
Janeira
Leucanella janeira Leucanella janeira
bayucca
bayucca 11 years ago
Dirce Beauty Caterpillar
Colobura dirce


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11 Comments

LaurenZarate
LaurenZarate 10 years ago

Thank you Luis. We are indeed, it's always great to see different individuals in different poses! :)

LuisStevens
LuisStevens 10 years ago

Great find Lauren! It seems that we are finding the same organisms.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/117...

bayucca
bayucca 10 years ago

Welcome! I hope you agree with all my suggestions ;-)...

LaurenZarate
LaurenZarate 10 years ago

OK, bayucca. Fixed. Thanks for all your efforts. Much appreciated.

bayucca
bayucca 10 years ago

I apologize, but this one is really Colobura dirce:
http://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/imag...
http://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/L/co...
To my knowledge there is NO Automeris memusae, but a Leucanella memusae, which looks very similar, but note the size of the white patch at the side of the body and the different shape of the spikes.
Yours looks like a Biblidinae with the prolonged and "bowed" first antennae pair, which, however, is not clearly visible. Please, do a re-check!

LaurenZarate
LaurenZarate 10 years ago

I have come across this larva again and on the internet and recently spotted the adult. This has turned out to be the last instar larva of the Io Moth Automeris memusae. Adult spotting:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/227....

LaurenZarate
LaurenZarate 11 years ago

Thank you bayucca and Juan Carlos, I agree with you on the identification.

DanielHernández
DanielHernández 11 years ago

VERY COOL!!!!

bayucca
bayucca 11 years ago

Looks for me more like a butterfly caterpillar than Saturniidae. Leucanella sp. cats are very similar but have more and more dense hairs/spikes. Janeira is not found in Mexico.
Nymphalidae, Colobura dirce. Unfortunately I have no electronic reference.

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

nice spotting!

ZFAaron
ZFAaron 11 years ago

Es muy parecida a la que yo postee, sin embargo creo que si son bastante diferentes las especies.

LaurenZarate
Spotted by
LaurenZarate

Chiapas, Mexico

Spotted on Oct 14, 2012
Submitted on Oct 20, 2012

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