Eueides isabella (Stoll 1781)

Characteristics

Early stages: Eggs are cream coloured and approximately 1 x 0.9 mm (h x w). Females usually place 1 to 3 eggs under older and younger leaves of the host plant. Mature larvae have a black body with orange and yellow stripes and white bands, with black and white scoli and head, orange anal cap; length is around 1.7 cm. Caterpillars are gregarious in small numbers (Brown, 1981). Pupae are greenish white with black markings on the wingpads and short spines on dorsum that are tipped black (DeVries, 1997).

Geographical distribution

Eueides isabella is widely distributed from Central America to Brazil and also on the Greater Antilles. The map below shows an approximate representation of the geographic distribution of this species.

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Distribution of Eueides isabella. © 2002 Margarita Beltran.

Geographical races

This widespread, geographically variable species has a number of named geographical races as follows (Lamas, 2004):

• Eueides isabella isabella (Stoll, 1781) - Guianas
• Eueides isabella arquata Stichel, 1903 - Colombia
• Eueides isabella cleobaea Geyer, 1832 - Cuba
• Eueides isabella dianasa (Hübner, [1806]) - Bahia, Brazil
• Eueides isabella dissoluta Stichel, 1903 - Peru
• Eueides isabella dynastes C. &. R. Felder, 1861 - Venezuela, Colombia
• Eueides isabella ecuadorensis Strand, 1912 - Ecuador
• Eueides isabella eva (Fabricius, 1793) - Central America
• Eueides isabella hippolinus Butler, 1873 - Peru
• Eueides isabella huebneri Ménétriés, 1857- Colombia
• Eueides isabella melphis (Godart, 1819) - Hispaniola, Puerto Rico
• Eueides isabella nigricornis R. G. Maza, 1982 - southern Mexico

Habits

E. isabella occurs from sea level to 1,500 m in secondary forests. Females mate multiply, often on hilltops. Adults roost solitarily at night under leaves (Brown, 1981).

Hostplant: E. isabella larvae feed primarily on plants from the subgenera Distephana and Granadilla (Passifloraceae)(Brown, 1981). In Costa Rica larvae feed on Passiflora platyloba, and P. ambigua (Passifloraceae) (DeVries, 1997).

References

Brown K. S. 1979. Ecologia Geográfica e Evolução nas Florestas Neotropicais. 2 vols. (Tese apresentada à Universidade Estadual de Campinas como parte das exigências de um Concurso de Livre Docência, area de Ecologia). Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil.

Brown K. S. 1981 The Biology of Heliconius and related genera. Annual Review of Entomology 26, 427-456.

DeVries P. J. 1997 The Butterflies of Costa Rica and Their Natural History, Volume I: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae Princeton University Press, Baskerville, USA.

Lamas, G. (ed.) 2004 Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4A Hesperioidea - Papiionoidea. Gainesville: Scientific Publishers/Association of Tropical Lepidoptera.

Stoll C. 1781 In: Cramer, P., De uitlandische Kapellen voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen Asia, Africa en America. Papillons exotiques des trois parties du monde l'Asie, l'Afrique et l'Amérique. Amsteldam, J. S. Baalde; Utrecht, Barthelemy Wild. (29/31): 91-164, pls. 337-372 (1781).