Systematics, morphology and physiology immature stages of the Brazilian crescent butterfly Ortilia liriope (Cramer) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Abstract

We provide the first information on the morphology of the immature stages (egg, larva, and pupa), oviposition and larval behavior, and host plant, for the Brazilian crescent butterfly Ortilia liriope (Cramer), based on material from Santarém Municipality, Pará State, Northern Brazil. Females of O. liriope lay eggs in clusters. After hatching, larvae eat the exochorion and remain gregarious in all but the final instar. The host plant recorded in the study site is Justicia sp. (Acanthaceae). Despite the scarcity of data on the immature stages of Neotropical Melitaeini, we can already say that some morphological and behavioral traits observed in the immature stages of O. liriope are also present in all known genera in this tribe. © 2011 Sociedade Entomolögica do Brasil.