Marpesia petreus (Cramer, 1776)

Common Name:
Ruddy Daggerwing

Synonyms:

Papilio petreus (Cramer, 1776)

Natural History:

Marpesia petreus has a wide geographical distribution and uses many different habitats. The posture is maked with an egg deposited by branch. The caterpillars build a filament of excrement at the end of the leaf, where they stay when they are not feeding. This behavior happens even suffering the first ecdise. The life cycle lasts on average 31 days (Quadros et al. 2003). The adults do not agglomerate, to sleep solitary (Brown Jr. 1992).

Distribution:
Argentina; Belize; Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; El Salvador; México; Puerto Rico; Trinidad and Tobago; Uruguay; Venezuela

Feeding Adult:

Adults feed on nectar and salts in mudpuddle

Feeding Caterpillars:

According compiled by Beccaloni et al. (2008) are recorded as host-plant:

Anacardiaceae: Anacardium sp., Anacardium excelsum, Anacardium occidentale

Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae: Mora excelsa

Moraceae: Artocarpus sp., Ficus sp., Ficus benjamina, Ficus cahuitensis, Ficus carica, Ficus citrifolia, Ficus cotinifolia, Ficus goldmanii, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus obtusifolia, Ficus ovalis, Ficus pertusa, Ficus pumila, Ficus rubiginosa?, Maclura sp., Maclura tinctoria.

Rutaceae: Zanthoxylum fagara

Color:
brown, cream, orange

Habitat:
anthropogenic, open, open forest / meadow

Publications:

Quadros F.C., Nascimento J.C., Dorneles A.L., Corseuil E. (2003):

Aspectos biológicos e morfológicos de Marpesia petreus (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Limenitidinae). Biociências. 11(2): 173-176

Brown Jr. K (1992):

Borboletas da Serra do Japi: diversidade, habitats, recursos alimentares e variação temporal. In:n História Natural da Serra do Japi: ecologia e preservação de uma área florestal no Sudeste do Brasil., Campinas, Unicamp: 142-186

Beccaloni G.W, Viloria A.L., Hall S.K., Robinson G.S. (2008):

Catalogue of the hostplants of the Neotropical butterflies. Book., London, S.E.A., Ribes, CYTED, Natural History Museum, IVIC: 1-536