''Elzunia humboldt'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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

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 ...

, subfamily

Danainae Danainae is a subfamily of the family Nymphalidae, the brush-footed butterflies. It includes the Daniadae, or milkweed butterflies, who lay their eggs on various milkweeds on which their larvae (caterpillars) feed, as well as the clearwing butt ...

, tribus

Ithomiini Ithomiini is a butterfly tribe in the nymphalid subfamily Danainae. It is sometimes referred to as the tribe of clearwing butterflies or glasswing butterflies. Some authors consider the group to be a subfamily (Ithomiinae). These butterflies are ...

Description

''Elzunia humboldt'' has a

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 o ...

of about . This species is quite variable depending on the subspecies. The uppersides of the wings are black, with a series of small white spots on the margins. At the base of the hindwings usually there is a broad yellow band, while in the middle of the forewings usually there are one or more white spots. The undersides of the wings have a similar pattern to the uppersides, but the basic colour is reddish instead of black and the hindwings usually have two series of white spots.

Distribution

This species can be found in Colombia,

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: ' ...

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 = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

Subspecies

* ''E. h. humboldt'' (Colombia) * ''E. h. bonplandii'' (Guérin-Méneville, 844 (Colombia) * ''E. h. cassandrina'' Srnka, 1884 (Ecuador) * ''E. h. regalis'' (Stichel, 1903) (Colombia) * ''E. h. albomaculata'' (Haensch, 1903) (Ecuador) * ''E. h. joiceyi'' (Kaye, 1918) (Colombia) * ''E. h. atahualpa'' Fox, 1956 (Peru) * ''E. h. judsoni'' Fox, 1956 (Peru)

Etymology

The butterfly was named to honour the German explorer

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...

References

"''Elzunia humboldt'' (Latreille, 1809)"
at BioLib.cz
"''Elzunia'' Bryk, 1937"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

External links

Flickr.com
Ithomiini Nymphalidae of South America Lepidoptera of Colombia Lepidoptera of Ecuador {{Danainae-stub