''Adelpha ethelda'', the Ethelda 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. It was described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1867. It is found from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. The habitat consists of pre-montane

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

and

cloud forests A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

at altitudes ranging from 400 to 2,000 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 34–37 mm. Adult males have been recorded imbibing mineralised moisture from damp soil, boulders, sandy river beaches or from aphid secretions on foliage.''Adelpha ethelda'' in learnaboutbutterflies
/ref> Larvae have been recorded feeding on '' Sabicea aspera''.

Subspecies

*''A. e. ethelda'' (Ecuador) *''A. e. eponina'' Staudinger, 1886 (Colombia) *''A. e. galbao'' Brévignon, 1995 (French Guiana) *''A. e. sophax'' Godman & Salvin, 1878 (Costa Rica, Panama) *''A. e. zalmona'' (Hewitson, 1871) (Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia)

References

Butterflies described in 1867 Adelpha Lepidoptera of French Guiana Nymphalidae of South America Taxa named by William Chapman Hewitson {{Limenitidinae-stub