Caligo atreus

Caligo atreus(Caligo atreus)    

Phylum —arthropoda
Class —insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family —nymphalidae

Genus –caligo

Appearance

The younger caterpillars are green, the older ones are brown, with five long outgrowths on the back. There are 6 horns on the head, some of them are tilted outwards, and others-forward. They have a rather long double "tail". The wingspan of this butterfly is about 14-16 cm. The upperside of the forewings is purplish-blue, the hindwings with a broad yellow stripe. On the underside of the hind wings, there is one large eyespot.

Habitat

The species can be found from Mexico to Peru.

Behavior

Like all Caligo, it is crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), preferring to sleep/hide during daylight hours by relying on camouflage.Adult males reaming inactive for most of the day until around 6 AM and 6 PM for an hour.

Adults are slow and often are attacked by birds.

Diet

The larvae feed on Musa and Heliconia species and can be a pest for banana cultivation. Adults feed on juices of rotting fruit.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 70 x 70 x 90 cm at the temperature of 26-28 °C.Females lay eggs in groups of 3-5 on the leaves of the forage plant.Eggs are white and round. The incubation period is 8-10 days.Caterpillars from the same group hatch at the same time and try to stick together. During the day, they sit on the lower part of the leaf, and at night they feed. The temperature for keeping is 26-28 °C and humidity is 60-80%. It is better not to transplant caterpillars from one plant to another and put them in a terrarium pot with a plant. The caterpillar develops for 30-50 days. The pupae are beige-yellow. The pupa develops for 3 weeks. Adult butterflies live up to 2-3 months.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours. You can feed the butterflies with an overripe banana, orange, pineapple, mango, or give them a few drops of honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1:10. You can give them a mixture of overripe banana, yogurt and orange juice.