silky owl butterfly

Description:

A sily owl butterfly... "Only in a few cases is identification to species possible from the pattern of the ocelli since these can be highly variable. All [species] are diurnal but appear to prefer the shade, feeding on rotten fruit [see photos 4-6] on the forest floor." (Gotts and Pangemanan, 2001).

Habitat:

Spotted around houses in a large semi-urban yard and garden, next to a disturbed patch of remnant forest, in the equatorial tropics of northern New Guinea. Attracted to fallen guava fruit in latter photos.