Scarlet Peacock Butterfly

Description:

Anartia amathea is a lightly built, medium sized butterfly with a wing span of approximately 4 cm. The base colour of the wings is either dark brown or black and there are usually three large red spots located near the base of the lower wings. The males have a distinct red coloration, whereas the females are slightly larger and orange. Butterfly wings are covered with tiny scales which reflect light, which is observed as their coloration. The orientation of these scales also aids in thermoregulation, which is regulation of body heat. Both sexes possess a band that spans both the top wings and part of the lower wings with a series of white spots. The underside of this butterfly is almost identical in pattern but much paler in colour than the top . The markings that are black on the top surface of this butterfly are pale brown on the underside. The head is small and the antennae are slender and slightly shorter than the length of the body. Adult life is short, spanning somewhere in between one and two weeks. The flight pattern of this butterfly is described as jaunty yet somewhat erratic, with a flight height between approximately 2-5 m above ground. Once this butterfly alights on a surface, usually vegetation, it spreads its UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago. Behaviour wings and orient towards the sun so that it can thermoregulate. When conditions are overcast however, it orients in a random direction. Several vernacular names are given to this butterfly in Trinidad and Tobago (Winer, 2009, pg 1004) and other Caribbean islands. Other names are the red anartia or scarlet peacock butterfly.

Habitat:

This one was spotted near Tucacas, Morrocoy, Venezuela. Near coast and wetlands. At the beginning of the rainy season, this butterfly can be observed in the hundreds wherever flowers are in bloom and is most likely the commonest butterfly found in Trinidad. Including Trinidad and Tobago, this butterfly has a vast geographical range, within the subtropical and tropical areas of Latin America; Central and South America, also included are other Caribbean islands of the lesser Antilles (Antigua, Barbados and Grenada).Within these areas, this butterfly is usually found wherever there are larval food plants and available nectar sources; usually plants of the family Acanthaceae. Human activity is beneficial to this species as their foodplants grow along drain ditches and irrigation,and large numbers are generally found in agricultural areas.