Elzunia humboldt

Elzunia humboldt is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Danainae, tribus Ithomiini.

Elzunia humboldt
E. h. bomplandii from Colombia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Nymphalidae
Genus:
Elzunia
Species:
E. humboldt
Binomial name
Elzunia humboldt
(Latreille, 1809)
Synonyms
  • Heliconius humboldt Latreille, 1809
  • Tithorea descandollesi Staudinger, 1885
  • Tithorea humboldtii flavomaculata Staudinger, 1885
  • Tithorea humboldtii latreillei Staudinger, 1885
  • Helicona bonplandii Guérin-Méneville, [1844]
  • Tithorea tamasea Hewitson, 1873
  • Tithorea tamasea f. lugubris Haensch, 1909
  • Tithorea cassandrina microguttata Röber, 1927
  • Tithorea cassandrina Srnka, 1885
  • Tithorea dagua Stichel, 1903
  • Tithorea bonplandii faba Weymer, 1909
  • Elzunia humboldtii coxeyi Fox, 1941

Description

Elzunia humboldt has a wingspan of about 80–85 millimetres (3.1–3.3 in). This species is quite variable depending on the subspecies. The uppersides of the wings are black, with a series of small white spots on the margins. At the base of the hindwings usually there is a broad yellow band, while in the middle of the forewings usually there are one or more white spots. The undersides of the wings have a similar pattern to the uppersides, but the basic colour is reddish instead of black and the hindwings usually have two series of white spots.

Distribution

This species can be found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Subspecies
  • E. h. humboldt (Colombia)
  • E. h. bonplandii (Guérin-Méneville, [1844]) (Colombia)
  • E. h. cassandrina Srnka, 1884 (Ecuador)
  • E. h. regalis (Stichel, 1903) (Colombia)
  • E. h. albomaculata (Haensch, 1903) (Ecuador)
  • E. h. joiceyi (Kaye, 1918) (Colombia)
  • E. h. atahualpa Fox, 1956 (Peru)
  • E. h. judsoni Fox, 1956 (Peru)

Etymology

The butterfly was named to honour the German explorer Alexander von Humboldt.

References
Wikispecies has information related to Elzunia humboldt.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elzunia humboldt.


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