Epicopeia is a genus of butterflies from the epicopeid family. Representatives of the genus are known for their ability to mimicry , expressed in similarities with their models - sailboats from the genus Atrophaneura .
Epicopeia | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Female Epicopeia mencia f. albofasciata . Russia, Khabarovsk Territory | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Epicopeia Moore , 1874 |
Content
- 1 Description
- 2 Types
- 3 Area
- 4 Biology
- 5 notes
Description
Pretty large butterflies with a thin, slightly pubescent body and wide wings. Wingspan up to 105 mm. Fore wings elongated lobate with a strongly rounded apex. The hind wings are narrowed, cut along the outer edge and often bear long tails formed by lengthening of the veins M1-M5. The general background of the wings is black, dark gray or gray-black. Sometimes both pairs of wings have a white band, as well as a row or double row of pink or red spots on the hind wings along the outer edge. The antennae of males are double-crested, the most simple, flagellate [1] .
Views
- Epicopeia battaka Dohrn, 1895
- Epicopeia hainesii Holland, 1889
- Epicopeia mencia Moore, [1875]
- Epicopeia polydora Westwood, 1841
Range
The main range covers Southeast Asia, including the south of the Russian Far East , Northeast, North and East China , Korea , Taiwan , Vietnam , India , Japan [1] .
Butterflies are found in liana broad-leaved forests, in valley and floodplain coppices with the growth of fodder plants.
Biology
One generation develops per year. The hatching periods of the butterflies are very tight and the flight period is very short. The life expectancy of adults is probably only a few days. This assumption is supported by a noticeable reduction in the mouthparts of butterflies, apparently unable to feed. Males fly mainly around nearby trees at a considerable height of up to 20 meters, showing the greatest activity in the afternoon. Occasionally, males dive down at an angle to the ground, and then soar up. Females rarely fly, usually they sit quietly on tops of bushes or trees. In rainy and cool weather, butterflies do not fly at all. Males actively seek out unfertilized females and mate with them sometimes even before the female has her wings fully extended and she will be able to go on the first flight. Caterpillars live in colonies, while feeding and resting, located exclusively on the underside of the leaves and keep in tight groups. In older ages, the dispersal of individual individuals of caterpillars occurs. At first, caterpillars are usually more active at night. Being alarmed, the caterpillars sharply bend towards the front of the body. Caterpillars pupate in the forest litter in a light silky white cocoon [2]
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Key to insects of the Far East of Russia. T. V. Caddis flies and lepidopterans. Part 5 / under the general. ed. P.A. Lera . - Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 2005. - S. 403–407. - 575 s. - 500 copies. - ISBN 5-8044-0597-7 .
- ↑ Glushchenko Yu. N., Tarasov A.A., Chistyakov Yu.A. Biology of Variable Epicopeia (Epicopeia mencia Moore) (Lepidoptera, Epicopeidae) in Primorye and the necessary measures for its protection. - Readings in memory of Alexei Ivanovich Kurentsov. Vol. I — II. Vladivostok: Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1992. P. 102-116.