Dryas iulia

"Julia butterfly" redirects here. For the activist and environmentalist, see Julia Butterfly Hill.

Dryas iulia
Dorsal view
Side view
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Genus: Dryas
Hübner, 1807
Species:
D. iulia
Binomial name
Dryas iulia
(Fabricius, 1775)
Subspecies

14, see text

Synonyms[1][2]

Genus synonymy

  • Alcionea Rafinesque, 1815
  • Colaenis Hübner, 1819

Species synonymy

  • Papilio iulia Fabricius, 1775
  • Papilio julia (misspelling)
  • Dryas julia (misspelling)

Dryas iulia (often incorrectly spelled julia),[3] commonly called the Julia butterfly, Julia heliconian, the flame, or flambeau, is a species of brush-footed (or nymphalid) butterfly. The sole representative of its genus Dryas,[4] it is native from Brazil to southern Texas and Florida, and in summer can sometimes be found as far north as eastern Nebraska. Over 15 subspecies have been described.

Its wingspan ranges from 82 to 92 mm, and it is colored orange (brighter in male specimens) with black markings; this species is somewhat unpalatable to birds and belongs to the "orange" Müllerian mimicry complex.[5]

This butterfly is a fast flier and frequents clearings, paths, and margins of forests and woodlands. It feeds on the nectar of flowers, such as lantanas (Lantana) and shepherd's-needle (Scandix pecten-veneris), and the tears of caiman, the eye of which the butterfly irritates to produce tears.[6] Its caterpillar feeds on leaves of passion vines, including Passiflora affinis and yellow passionflower (P. lutea) in Texas.

Its mating behavior is complex and involves a prolonged courtship whose outcome appears to be controlled by the female. This raises questions pertaining to the occurrence of the evolution of sexual conflict.[7]

The species is popular in butterfly houses because it is long-lived and active throughout the day. However, the caterpillars are spiky and may cause a skin rash.[8]

  1. ^ "Dryas". BioLib.
  2. ^ "Dryas iulia". BioLib.
  3. ^ Lamas, G. (editor) (2004). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4A. Hesperioidea – Papilionoidea. ISBN 978-0-945417-28-6
  4. ^ JRG Turner 1967 The generic name of Papilio iulia Fabricius, sometimes called the Flambeau (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) Entomologist vol. 100 p. 8
  5. ^ Pinheiro, Carlos E. G. (1996): Palatability and escaping ability in Neotropical butterflies: tests with wild kingbirds (Tyrannus melancholicus, Tyrannidae). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 59(4): 351–365. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1996.tb01471.x (HTML abstract)
  6. ^ Barkham, Patrick (6 April 2011). "The real butterfly effect – not chaos, but wonder". the Guardian.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).