''Adelpha boreas'', the gaudy sister or solitary sister, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

. It was described by

Arthur Gardiner Butler Arthur Gardiner Butler F.L.S., F.Z.S. (27 June 1844 – 28 May 1925) was an English entomologist, arachnologist and ornithologist. He worked at the British Museum on the taxonomy of birds, insects, and spiders. Biography Arthur Gardiner Butl ...

in 1866. It is found from

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. The habitat consists of primary and disturbed rainforests and cloudforests at altitudes between 200 and 1,200 meters. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is about 47 mm. Adults have been observed imbibing moisture from damp ground. The larvae feed on ''

Satyria ''Satyria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the blueberry tribe Vaccinieae, family Ericaceae, native to southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It is closely related to ''Cavendishia ''Cavendishia'' is a genus of abou ...

'' species. Young larvae feed on the leaf tips, constructing a chain of

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

along the midrib. Full-grown larvae have the appearance of a mossy twig.Adelpha boreas in learnaboutbutterflies
/ref>

Subspecies

*''Adelpha boreas boreas'' (Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia) *''Adelpha boreas kayei'' Hall, 1939 (Guyana)

References

Butterflies described in 1866 Adelpha Nymphalidae of South America Taxa named by Arthur Gardiner Butler {{Limenitidinae-stub