''Agrias claudina'', the Claudina Agrias, is a butterfly 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 ...

."''Agrias'' Doubleday, 1844"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' It is found from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

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 subspecies ''A. c. sardanapalus'' is found in

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 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. It is found in primary and secondary rainforest at altitudes between 200 and 600 meters. The larvae feed on ''

Erythroxylum ''Erythroxylum'' (''Erythroxylon'') is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Erythroxylaceae. Many of the approximately 200 species contain the substance cocaine,Bieri S, Brachet A, Veuthey J, Christen P. Cocaine distribution in wild ...

'' species. Adults feed on decomposing fruit and rotting fish. The Agrias Claudina physically are very beautiful looking, not only this but are pretty large for butterflies. Agria Claudina has wing spans of 2.8-4.7in. Between females and males, there are very small differences in their color, shape, size, and structure. Males have yellow tufts that are used to attract female butterflies. In all Agria Claudia, the bottom of their wings has different patterns, the main colors seen on these butterflies are blue, red, black, and yellow.

Gallery

File:Nymphalidae - Agrias claudina sardanapalus.JPG, ''A. c. sardanapalus'' File:Agriasclaudinaclaudinalecerfi.JPG, ''A. c. lecerfi'' File:Satanas P3020013.jpg, ''A. c. satanas'' File:WachenheimiP3020012.jpg, ''A. c. wachenheim'' File:Agriasclaudinahorni.JPG, ''A. c. horni''

Historical accounts

Henry Walter Bates Henry Walter Bates (8 February 1825, in Leicester – 16 February 1892, in London) was an English naturalist and explorer who gave the first scientific account of mimicry in animals. He was most famous for his expedition to the rainforests of ...

wrote about ''A. c. sardanapalus'': "This magnificent butterfly is one of the most variegated of the whole entomological world. I found it at different places of the Upper Amazon, but always only in sunny clearings of the primeval forests and in oppressively hot weather between the wet and dry season. It flies similarly as the ''

Prepona ''Prepona'' is a genus of Neotropical charaxine butterflies in the family Nymphalidae. They are strong fliers in tropical forests where they feed on fermenting fruits and animal dung. The underside of the wings is pale greyish or brownish, while ...

'' and it is, therefore, quite impossible to capture it except when it is sitting. The first, specimens I saw were baited by the sap exuding from a tree where a dense crowd of other beautiful butterflies, such as ''Prepona'', ''Paphia'' (''Andea''), ''Sideronia'', ''Gynaecia'' and others were daily assembled. But the continual coming and going of the greedy animals made the wonderful ''Agrias'' extremely timid and wary, so that I could not grasp it. When being met alone in the roads sitting on defilements, it was much easier to capture, but only 3 or so times during the long years I succeeded in meeting it in such a position."

Paul Hahnel Paul Hahnel (17 April 1843, Schlegenburg in Leobsanütz, Silesia - 12 May 1887, Manicore) He collected Lepidoptera and Coleoptera in Venezuela (1877/79) and made two Amazon expeditions the first 1879-1884) and the second, with Otto Michael 1 ...

wrote: "By far more precious than the ''

Panacea In Greek mythology, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panacea (the goddess of universal ...

'' flying in open spaces, appealed to us some few specimens of the large ''sardanapalus'' clad in purple and blue, which we captured at the bait in the forest and which is not exceeded in beauty by any other butterfly. For although some Indian

Ornithoptera ''Ornithoptera'' is a genus of birdwing butterflies found in the northern portion of the Australasian realm, east of Weber's line; the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and northeastern Australia. Except for ''Ornithoptera richmondia'' ...

and the Morphids flying on the Amazon surpass it in the development of single attributes, such as size and splendour of colours, they do not come up to its abundant and most thoroughly accomplished markings of the under surface expressing the Nymphalid-type the most perfectly in ''sardanapalus''. But above all other excellencies it was adorned by the noble descent, belonging to a genus being in every way unblemished by vulgarity, the species of which are rarities to such an extent that none of the existing large collections is able to boast of possessing all of them in completion."

References

External links

Species info
Charaxinae Fauna of Brazil Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1824 Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Godart {{Charaxinae-stub