''Pierella helvina'', the red-washed satyr, is a species of

nymphalid 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 ...

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 ...

in the subfamily

Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...

Description

The basic colour of the wings is dark brown. The anterior wings have three black bands crossing the cell, the inner one prolonged to the inner margin. The end of the cell is also black. Two parallel black bands cross the wings from the inner margin to the costa. between these bands and the outer margin are a series of spots, the nearest the costa black, the next black and the two following white. The posterior wings have three black cross bands. Beyond the third of these bands is a large red patch. Beyond this patch the wings are darker and have a white spot and a black ocellus with the appearance of a pupil. The outer margin is deeply indented. The anal patch is dark brown. Larva feeds on ''

Heliconia ''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the we ...

'' and ''

Calathea ''Calathea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Marantaceae. They are commonly called calatheas or (like their relatives) prayer plants. About 200 species formerly assigned to ''Calathea'' are now in the genus ''Goeppertia''. C ...

'' species.

Distribution

This species can be found in Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Subspecies

*''Pierella helvina helvina'' (Colombia) *''Pierella helvina ocreata'' Godman & Salvin, 1868 (Panama, Ecuador) *''Pierella helvina incanescens'' Godman & Salvin, 1877 (Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama) *''Pierella helvina hymettia'' Staudinger, 1886 (Colombia) *''Pierella helvina pacifica'' Niepelt, 1924 (Colombia)

References

BioLib.cz"''Pierella'' Herrich-Schäffer, 1865"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

External links

Haeterini Nymphalidae of South America {{Satyrinae-stub