''Asterope optima'' is a species of

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 ...

of the family Nymphalidae.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

of ''Asterope optima'' can reach . The coloration and patterns of this species are quite variable. Usually the dorsal sides of the wings are metallic bright blue with paler margins, while the under sides are basically grayish or pale blue with rows of small black spots and lines on the hindwings and a large reddish-orange patch on the basal half of the hindwings. The adults fly all year round but they are most common from September to November.Dale W. Jenkin
Neotropical Nymphalidae VI. Revision of ''Asterope'' (=''Callithea'' Auct.)
''Bulletin of the Allyn Museum'' - N. 114 1987

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found from southern Colombia through Ecuador to northern Peru and western Brazil. It occurs in tropical evergreen and semi-deciduous forests, at an elevation of above sea level.

References

*LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Beccaloni G.W., Scoble M.J., Robinson G.S. & Pitkin B., 2005-06-15

External links

BiolibEncyclopaedia of LifeCatalogue of Life
Biblidinae Fauna of Brazil Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1869 Taxa named by Arthur Gardiner Butler {{Biblidinae-stub