AGRIAS BUTTERFLIES - GEM OF THE BELIZEAN RAINFOREST!

LAUREN'S BUTTERFLIES OF BELIZE (Part Nine)

Is brought to you by ReMax Island Real Estate - everything we touch, turns to sold!

---

Agrias Butterfly, looking at the upperside of its wings.

GEM OF THE BELIZE INSECT WORLD
The Agrias Butterfly is known by many as the gem of the insect world.  They are not only rare, but extremely hard to find, and rarely do you ever get to see one in the wild - as they reside mainly in the tree tops of the Belize rainforest.   

The Agrias Amydon Butterfly habitat, ranges from the southern tip of Mexico (northern part of Belize) going south through the Andes rain forests of Colombia to Bolivia, and East throughout much of the Amazon Basin, extending as far South as Iguazu Falls, Argentina.

There are 5 Agrias species, and numerous subspecies. In amydon the upperside is dark brown with vivid crimson patches on the forewings.

In some subspecies e.g. zenodorus and boliviensis the crimson is replaced by bright orange. The upperside hindwings have a smaller patch metallic blue (as you see above), which varies in size and hue according to subspecies. Males of all Agrias species have prominent yellow tufts of androconial scales on the hindwings.

The butterflies spend most of their lives high in the canopy of the rainforests in Belize, and for this reason - it is very hard to get a glimpse of one.  Agrias have always been highly prized by collectors, who use plantain, rotting fish and various other cocktails to attract the males down from the tree tops.  They are amongst the most vividly marked and beautiful butterflies in the world. 

The Agrias are only active in hot conditions, and this is why their habitat is found in primary and secondary rainforest at altitudes between about 200-600m.  The eggs are smooth, globular and laid singly on leaves of the food plants. The caterpillar when fully grown is olive brown, plump, and tapers toward the posterior, which is adorned with a pair of twisted caudal tails. The neck is narrow, and the head is very large in proportion to the body.

To see one of these babies in the wild, is a rare sight indeed, and for this reason they are considered a Belize rainforest gem.   

The top of the winds are red, blue and black, the under part of the wings, look like the pictures below with yellow and dots.

---