''Nessaea hewitsonii'', the Hewitson's olivewing, is a species of

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 is common in a broad range of the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

including the eastern slopes of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

mountain range. It is found in high evergreen tropical forest, semi-deciduous tropical forest, and riverine forest.Neotropical Nymphalidae VII. Revision of Nessaea
/ref> The length of the wings is 33–40 mm for males and 36–41 mm for females. The upperside of the males is dark brown, with bright sky-blue diagonal bands on the forewings and blue markings on the hindwings. They are fast flyers and fly in an erratic fashion. They may land suddenly on leaves or on the ground if decaying fruit is present. They are also attracted to human perspiration.

Subspecies

*''Nessaea hewitsonii hewitsonii'' (from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru eastward into the Amazon valley, and south to Rondonia, Brazil) *''Nessaea hewitsonii boliviensis'' Jenkins, 1989 (Bolivia and southern Peru)

References

Biblidinae Fauna of Brazil Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1859 {{Biblidinae-stub