Parides iphidamas

Parides iphidamas(Parides iphidamas)

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

Genus –parides

Appearance

Parides iphidamas has a wingspan of about 10 centimeters (3.9 in). The dorsal sides of the forewings are black, with a broad green and white spots (completely white in females), while the dorsal sides of the hindwings show a broad red band or spot. Along the edges there are many small yellow spots. The undersides of the wings are black with a white band on the forewings and several pink patches on the hindwings. The body of the butterfly is black with red dots.

The poisonous caterpillars are chocolate brown, with white or brown protrusions resembling thorns.

Habitat

This species is native to the Central and South America. It occurs from southeastern Mexico to Costa Rica, Panama, and Peru.

Behavior

It demonstrates daily activity. Butterflies are poisonous, because the caterpillars accumulate poison from forage plants. Females lay their eggs at noon on the edges and bright areas of the forest.

Like other caterpillars of this family, the caterpillars of this butterfly have an osmetrium – a gland behind the head that extends in danger and looks like two long brightly colored "horns".

Diet

The caterpillars feed on the leaves of Aristolochia.Butterflies feed on nectar.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. Females lay eggs on the leaves of the forage plant. It is better to keep the caterpillars in containers with a mesh lid of 6-8 pieces. In the container, you need to place a forage plant.The temperature is 23-25 ^oC at the humidity of60-70%. The pupae are green with large spots of a lighter shade and small horns at the front part of the body.The pupal stage lasts for 2-3 weeks.The butterfly lives 5-8 days.

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 honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10.