''Catasticta sibyllae'' is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

in the family

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in Levi ...

. It is only known from two sites in western Panama and is represented by a single male specimen from each site. It was first described by Shinichi Nakahara, Pablo Sebastián Padrón, and John R. MacDonald in 2018. The first specimen was caught in the 1980s and stowed in a drawer in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with ...

. Its wings are black with two rows of cream-colored spots near the edges. It differs from other ''

Catasticta ''Catasticta'' is a genus of Neotropical butterflies in the family Pieridae. The genus was erected by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1870. Species *Subgenus ''Catasticta'' Butler, 1870 **The ''flisa'' species group ***''Catasticta bithys'' (Hübner, ...

'' species in the lack of markings on the medial surfaces of its black forewings and hindwings. According to DNA analysis, it is most closely related to ''

Catasticta lisa ''Catasticta lisa'' is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symb ...

'' Baumann & Reissinger, 1969, which has a broad white band on the upper surfaces of the wings. The two specimens of ''C. sibyllae'' had forewing lengths of respectively. The name honors

Maria Sibylla Merian Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 164713 January 1717) was a German naturalist and scientific illustrator. She was one of the earliest European naturalists to observe insects directly. Merian was a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss Meri ...

, a 17th century European naturalist and entomologist who studied butterflies in South America.

References

External links

New Butterfly Named for Pioneering 17th-Century Entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian
{{Taxonbar, from=Q59566605 Pierini Butterflies described in 2018 Butterflies of Central America Endemic fauna of Panama