Junonia evarete (Cramer, 1779)

Common Name:
Tropical Buckeye

Synonyms:

Papilio lavinia (Cramer 1775)

Papilio evarete (Cramer, 1779)

Junonia lavinia lavinia f. genoveva (Forbes, 1928)

Precis lavinia f. genoveva (Carpenter & Lewis, 1943)

Junonia evarete genoveva (Comstock, 1944)

Junonia genoveva (Avinoff & Shoumatoff, 1946)

Natural History:

Junonia evarete has a wide distribution throughout the Americas, occurs in different habitats such as mangroves, forest edges, urban gardens - open environments and sunny, as recorded by Otero & Marigo (1992) in savannah metalliferous in Carajás, Pará. The larvae can prey on mangrove plants and can control the population of Avicennia germinans by intensive desfoliation of seedlings. This herbivory is more pronounced in habitats disturbed (Fernandes et al 2009; Elster et al. 1999.)

Distribution:
Argentina; Brasil; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; Guyane française; Honduras; México; Puerto Rico; Suriname; Venezuela

Occurence Period:

Occurs throughout the year

Feeding Adult:

Adults feed on nectar

Feeding Caterpillars:

According Beccaloni et al. 2008 are recorded as host-plant species of:

Acanthaceae: Barleria cristata, Blechum pyramidatum, Ruellia tuberosa

Verbenaceae: Stachytarpheta cayennensis, Stachytarpheta jamaicensis. Avicennia germinans is recorded by Elster et al. (1999).

Color:
brown, orange, blue, cream

Habitat:
open, urban, forest edge, anthropogenic, river bank

Publications:

Otero L.S., Marigo L.C. (1992):

Butterflies of Carajás. Book., Rio de Janeiro, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce: 1-76

Fernandes M.E.B., Nascimento A.A.M., Carvalho M.L. (2009):

Effects of herbivory by Hyblaea puera (Hyblaeidae: Lepidoptera on litter production in the mangrove on the coast of Brazilian Amazonia. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 25(3): 337-339

Elster C.,Perdomo L., Polania J., Schnetter M.L. (2000):

Control of Avicennia germinans recruitment and survival by Junonia evarete larvae in a disturbed mangrove forest in Colombia. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 15(6): 791-805

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