''Porthecla prietoi'' 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 ...

in the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

. It is found in western

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and western

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 ...

at altitudes between 1,000 and 2,200 meters. The length of the forewings is 19 mm for males and 19 mm for females., 2011
Species level taxonomy of the Neotropical hairstreak genus ''Porthecla'' (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Eumaeini).
'' Annales de la Société Entomologique de France'' (n.s.), 47(1-2): 241-259 Adults are on wing year-round.

Etymology

The species is named Carlos Prieto, a Colombian lepidopterist studying Lycaenidae.

References

Butterflies described in 2011 Eumaeini {{Eumaeini-stub