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John Shuey |
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Paul Labus |
Preliminary Butterfly results
The number of specimens sampled was fairly
low given the sample effort. Approximately 300 specimens
were captured during ~20 person days of sampling effort.
Two factors contributed to the low catch rate. The cool
rainy weather which prevailed during the expedition limited
flight activity of most butterfly species, which in turn
depressed our ability to sample. And ironically, the undisturbed
nature of the habitat contributed to the low encounter rate
as well. Most butterflies visit flowers to feed, and are
most easily sampled along forest edges and openings where
early successional plants often bloom profusely. Almost
no such habitat existed in the vicinity of Doyle’s
Delight. Although the recent bamboo die off created scattered
openings within the previous few months, early successional
plants had not yet fully responded to the these newly open
habitats and very few species were producing blooms. Likewise
the helipad and trail systems were freshly cleared and offered
few flowers that were attractive to butterflies.
Despite the low numbers of butterflies
captured, we estimate that ten or more species are new country
records for Belize. Although the samples are currently being
prepared and are not yet available for detailed examination,
there are some obvious and spectacular records included.
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Prepona deiphile
undetermined subspecies.
NEW COUNTRY RECORD. A spectacular member of the
Nymphalidae subfamily Charaxinae, this species ranges
from southern Mexico through Brazil. In Central
America it is considered rare and localized, and
is very poorly known south of Mexico. It is generally
considered to be a montane species of rainforest
habitats.
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Caerois species
(probably C. gerdrudtus).
NEW COUNTRY RECORD. A satyr-like member of the Nymphalidae
subfamily Morphinae, which includes such spectacular
and well known species as the “blue morpho”.
The genus Caerois is reported throughout tropical
South America, northward to Costa Rica where it
is considered rare in lowland swamp forests. The
DD record is notable as a significant range extension
and the habitat at DD differs significantly from
that reported from Costa Rica.
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Agrias aedon rodriguezi
An exceptionally
rare species of Charaxinae otherwise known from
Belize from Cockscomb Basin. This subspecies is
distributed from southern Mexico to Costa Rica,
but is unreported from most intervening countries.
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Morpho polyphemus
Probably the most
common buttefly at Doyle's Delight during our visit.
Here a male about to enter a fruit baited butterfly
trap.
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Article
on the trip in The Nature Conservancy Indiana Update, Fall
2007, Winter 2008 (PDF, 614kb)
Same
article as above but then from the TNC website
Full report of this trip
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Main Doyle's Delight Page
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