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What Is the Habitat for an Owl Butterfly? | eHow.com - 0 views

www.ehow.com/77_habitat-owl-butterfly_.html

shared by Paige Z on 05 Apr 13 - No Cached

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Habitat According to Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University, the owl butterfly's habitat is primarily dense rainforest areas of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to the Amazon Basin. They are often found near banana plantations, as owl butterfly larvae have hearty appetites for banana plant leaves (as well as heliconia). They are considered pests in banana-producing countries. Adults have strong probosces (mouths that are long, coiled straw-like tubes) for piercing fruit skins and feed mainly on rotting fruit, such as bananas, pineapples and mangoes.
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Eye Spots The butterfly owl's eye spots may not just confuse predators, they may also "divert attacks away from the vulnerable abdomen of this very palatable butterfly," notes the Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation (COTERC). According to COTERC, butterflies are often seen with wing damage near their eye spots, which shows that the markings give the butterfly a greater chance for losing part of a wing rather than its life. Owl butterflies are active primarily at dawn and dusk, where their main predators are often small lizards. When the owl butterfly's wings are closed it resembles the head of a mammal or lizard.
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The owl butterfly's existence is threatened by the destruction of its habitat, the rain forest, as well as heavy use of harmful pesticides at the banana plantations they visit. But the owl butterfly is still considered enough of a pest that experiments are being done to control its larvae in organic banana fields with parasitic wasps, according to Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University. Tiny Xenufens (Trichogrammatid ) wasps like to use owl butterfly eggs for their own young. Once the female owl butterfly lays her eggs, the wasp pricks tiny holes in the eggs and lays her own. The wasp's larvae feed on the developing butterfly larvae. Xenufens wasps can destroy large numbers of owl butterfly larvae easily when no pesticides are used.
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Mating During mating season, males gather along roadsides and edges of their habitats at dawn and dusk "to competitively engage other males in aerial encounters and display to attract females," according to COTERC. This practice of gathering in the same place to mate is known as "lekking." COTERC also reports that the displays can last for about 30 minutes and that males shiver in order to increase their thoracic temperature for mating. Males also produce pheromones that give many species a characteristic odor; some males smell strongly like vanilla.
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Other Physical Characteristics Owl butterflies are large--their wingspans can reach eight inches. Some owl butterflies are brown in color and others are blue, and some varieties show some gray or yellow. COTERC reports that new visitors to its station in Costa Rica frequently mistake owl butterflies for bats.
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Olivia C on 05 Apr 13

tels about a lot

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Butterflies of the Andes - Calogo oileus - 0 views

www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/ndes%20-%20Caligo%20oileus.htm Owl Butterflies

shared by Olivia C on 04 Apr 13 - No Cached

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A few decades ago the Owl butterflies were considered to be members of a now defunct family, the Brassolidae. Following the revisions of Erlich ( 1958 ) and Ackery ( 1984 ), all of the butterflies with only two pairs of walking legs were placed within the Nymphalidae. The Brassolidae were reduced in rank to a subfamily Brassolinae, and then relegated further to become the Brassolini - a tribe within the Morphinae.
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The 21 Caligo species are known colloquially as Owl butterflies, due to the owl-like false eyes, and the feathery appearance of the underside wings.
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Various theories have been proposed to explain the presence of the huge eyespots that adorn the underside hindwings of all species. The butterflies rest for very long periods on tree trunks and can be quite difficult to spot, but if accidentally disturbed by a bird they take immediate flight and if seen from below with wings fully open could feasibly be mistaken for an owl. When at rest however, only one side of the wings can be seen at a time and the appearance then is not owl-like. Another theory states that the eyespot and surrounding dark areas are mimetic of a species of tree frog that is said to rest on tree trunks where Owl butterflies are seen. It is however difficult to imagine what possible advantage a butterfly might have in resembling a tree frog !
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A more rational likelihood is that the eyespot functions as a decoy. Caligo butterflies have a slow flapping flight, so a bird could easily follow one to it's resting place. Once it has settled however the mottled patterning provides the butterfly with superb camouflage against the bark of a tree trunk, with only the eyespot remaining prominent. Birds don't direct their beaks aimlessly - they normally aim for the head or body of a butterfly, but when the butterfly is well camouflaged they would aim instead at the most obvious and prominent feature, which in this case is the eyespot.
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The underside markings of most Caligo species are prone to variation, which often causes confusion in identification. C. oileus can be confused with oedipus, but the upperside forewings of the former have broad suffused yellowish median bands, and the upperside hindwings are flushed with deep blue. In oedipus the bands are much narrower and whiter, and the whole upperside is flushed with
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Habitats
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This species inhabits cloudforest habitats at altitudes between about 600-1600m.
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Owl butterfly eggs are parasitised by tiny Trichogrammatid wasps that ride from place to place on the hindwings of the butterflies. They only leave the female's wings when she lays eggs, and then return, to be transported to the next egg laying site. The eggs laid by any individual female may be laid either singly, or in groups of 20 or more, on Heliconia leaves ( Heliconiaceae ).
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The larvae are gregarious. Cannibalism does not apparently occur despite the fact that aggregations may include small and vulnerable 1st and 2nd instar larvae alongside fully grown specimens. When full grown they are dull brown, marked with darker longitudinal stripes. They have prominent forked tails, and a crown of horns on their heads. The larvae are nocturnal, and rest during daylight hours on dead leaves at the base of the foodplants, where they are superbly camouflaged. They appear to have some form of chemical defence, as they are ignored by marauding Eciton soldier ants. 
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The large stocky pupa is pale brown with darker streaks and closely resembles a bit of dead foliage. It is formed hanging by the cremaster from woody stems or amongst clumps of dead leaves.
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Caligo butterflies are usually encountered as singletons, flying just before dusk along narrow trails. They are strongly attracted to rotting plantain and other fruit on the forest floor. If alarmed they fly off in an ungainly fashion, with the flapping of their wings clearly audible. Normally they fly only a few metres at a time, and settle on tree trunks, but if they attempt to land on foliage they usually often fail to maintain their grip, and are forced to fly off again and settle elsewhere.
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They continue flying throughout the night, and are often attracted into buildings by artificial lighting. Just before dawn they seek out narrow tree trunks, on which they roost during daylight hours at a height of between 1-2 metres above ground level. On particularly dull and damp mornings they will continue flying, sometimes in quite open areas along the edge of forest roads.
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I once observed a Caligo nectaring at flowers in mid-elevation rainforest in Ecuador, but they more usually feed at fallen fruit on the forest floor, and can be baited with rotting bananas or plantain. Owl butterflies are known to live for up to 3 months in captivity but it is not known how long they live in the wild.
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Olivia C on 04 Apr 13

all owl butterfly infomation

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