✎ Natalia Guzmán
✎ Camilo Alméciga
Owl butterfly
Caligo illioneusAndean region
RECORRIDO VIRTUAL POR LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE COLOMBIA
Museo de Historia Natural
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Owl butterfly
Caligo illioneus
Morpho-functionality
Wings
The designs of their wings are formed thanks to the coverage of small scales that are arranged as an old roof of tiles.
Antennae
By means of the antenna it orients itself at night following the smells and pheromones around it.
Flight
Their large hind wings are key to evade predators as these allow them to change their flight direction quickly.
Lifecycle
They lay their eggs mainly in the dark, in groups of nine arranged as a row on the median vein of the inner side of leaves of various species of grasses. The larvae take six days to emerge. The larva will go through six instars that will last around 44-49 days in total. The next phase is the pupa, which lasts for about 13-15 days, with the appearance of a dry and twisted leaf. Males have a maximum wing width or wingspan of 105 mm and females 120 mm. The coloration in males is more intense and has a bright area on the inner margin at the anal angle of the hind wings.
Owl butterfly
Distribution
It is exclusive to the Neotropics and has subspecies distributed from Costa Rica through Trinidad, Colombia and Suriname to the North of Paraguay and Bolivia. It is common to find it in rain forests and secondary forests.
Distribution area