''Consul fabius'', the tiger leafwing, is the most common and well known species of the genus ''

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

'' of subfamily Charaxinae in the brush-footed butterfly

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

(Nymphalidae). It is found all over the

Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bi ...

Description

The length of the forewings reaches about . The uppersides of the wings have a bright orange and black pattern, with two yellow bands across the angular forewings. The hindwings are tailed. This butterfly is part of a

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry ...

ring, as a matter of fact the cryptic undersides of the wings mimic a dead leaf. The eggs are laid on the leaves of various species of

Piperaceae The Piperaceae (), also known as the pepper family, are a large family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,600 currently accepted species in 5 genera. The vast majority of species can be found within the two main genera: '' Piper'' ...

('' Piper tuberculatum'', '' Piper auritum'', '' Piper umbellatum'', etc.), of which the caterpillars feed. The caterpillars are dark green with reddish spots along the back, while the chrysalis are pale green.

Distribution

''Consul fabius'' occurs from

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

to the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

(

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

)."''Consul'' Hübner, [1807]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

Habitat

This species is present in deciduous forest">807]"">"''Consul'' Hübner, [1807]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''

Habitat

This species is present in deciduous forest, rainforest, and cloud forest. It usually prefers the forest canopy, the banks of rivers and the forest edges, at elevations between sea level and about 1200 m.

Subspecies

*''C. f. fabius'' (Suriname) *''C. f. cecrops'' (Doubleday, 849 (Mexico, Panama to Bolivia) *''C. f. albinotatus'' (Butler, 1874) (Colombia) *''C. f. bogotanus'' (Butler, 1874) (Columbia, Venezuela) *''C. f. castaneus'' (Butler, 1874) (Brazil: Amazonas) *''C. f. drurii'' (Butler, 1874) (Brazil) *''C. f. divisus'' (Butler, 1874) (Peru) *''C. f. ochraceus'' (Butler, 1874) (Trinidad) *''C. f. quadridentatus'' (Butler, 1874) (Bolivia) *''C. f. fulvus'' (Butler, 1875) (Peru) *''C. f. diffusus'' (Butler, 1875) (Ecuador) *''C. f. semifulvus'' (Butler, 1875) (Ecuador) *''C. f. fassli'' (Röber, 1916) (western Colombia, Ecuador) *''C. f. superba'' (Niepelt, 1923) (Colombia)

Synonyms

* ''Papilio fabius'' Cramer, 775/small> * ''Consul hippona'' * ''Anaea fabius'' * ''Protogonius quadridentatus'' = ''C. f. quadridentatus'' (Butler, 1874) * ''Protogonius castaneus'' = ''C. f. castaneus'' (Butler, 1874) * ''Protogonius ochraceus'' = ''C. f. ochraceus'' (Butler, 1874) * ''Protogonius albinotatus'' = ''C. f. albinotatus'' (Butler, 1874) * ''Protogonius cecrops'' Doubleday, 849/small> * ''Protogonius hippona chiricanus'' Röber, 1916 * ''Protogonius tithoreides'' Butler, 1874 * ''Protogonius lilops'' Butler, 1874 * ''Protogonius holocrates'' Hahnel, 1890 * ''Protogonius hippona'' var. ''immaculatus'' Staudinger, 1887 * ''Protogonius hippona'' var. ''peruvianus'' Staudinger, 1887 * ''Protogonius hippona trinitatis'' Röber, 1916 * ''Protogonius butleri'' Staudinger, 1886 * ''Protogonius aequatorialis'' Butler, 1875 * ''Protogonius diffusus'' ab. ''ecuadorensis'' Strand, 1921

References

External links

Butterflies of AmazoniaTolweb
Anaeini Butterflies of North America Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1776 Fauna of Brazil Taxa named by Pieter Cramer {{Charaxinae-stub