Mariposa Colorada

Description:

It is probably the butterfly best known by Chileans and is named after the city of Laconia in ancient Greece: Caryae, place of veneration of the goddess Diana. It is of medium size: 45 to 55 mm, but can also present smaller: 28 to 30 mm. Its dorsal face is black and orange with very varied and attractive designs and spots, while its ventral face has more complex designs in beige, brown, orange and a few small blue details.

Habitat:

It reproduces and flies from Venezuela to Brazil, even moving to Oceania. In Chile it flies from Arica to Cabo de Hornos, from the seashore to the 4,300 mts of altitude. Also in the archipelago of Juan Fernandez. The larva is able to develop in any plant of the family Malvaceae, such as Althaea officinalis Linn., And Alcea rosea Linn, but also has been observed in "nettle" (Urtica dioica) and in a species of the genus Haplopappus. The variety of plants with which it is associated to reproduce has collaborated in its wide distribution.

Notes:

The female places the eggs, of light green color, on the superior face of the leaves. The larvae in the first stage of growth do not exceed 6 to 8 mm in length by 1 mm in width, reaching 30 mm in length and 3 in width before pupating. Black at the beginning, as it progresses from the first to the fourth and fifth stages of growth (seedlings), appear small dots and figures of light yellow color and acquires a brownish gray color. The pupa reaches 22 to 23 mm in length by 6 to 7 mm in width. Brownish-green to brown