Butterflies of Cuba
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    • Species List >
      • Papilionidae : Papilioninae >
        • Battus devilliers - De Villiers' Swallowtail
        • Battus polydamas - Polydamas Swallowtail
        • Heraclides andraemon - Bahaman Swallowtail
        • Heraclides androgeus - Androgeus Swallowtail
        • Heraclides caiguanabus - Poey's Swallowtail
        • Heraclides oviedo - Oviedo's Swallowtail
        • Heraclides oxynius - Cuban Black Swallowtail
        • Heraclides pelaus - Pelaus Swallowtail
        • Heraclides ponceana - Dusky Swallowtail
        • Neographium celadon - Cuban Kite Swallowtail
        • Papilio demoleus - Lime Swallowtail
        • Papilio polyxenes - Black Swallowtail
        • Parides gundlachianus - Gundlach's Swallowtail
        • Pterourus palamedes - Palamedes Swallowtail
        • Pterourus troilus - Spicebush Swallowtail
      • Hesperiidae : Eudaminae >
        • Aguna asander - Gold-spotted Aguna
        • Aguna claxon - Emerald Aguna
        • Autochton potrillo - Potrillo Skipper
        • Cecropterus dorantes - Dorantes Longtial
        • Chioides marmorosa - Cuban Longtail
        • Epargyreus zestos - Zestos Skipper
        • Phocides pigmalion - Mangrove Skipper
        • Polygonus leo - Hammock Skipper
        • Proteides maysi - May's Skipper
        • Proteides mercurius - Cuban Mercurial Skipper
        • Telegonus anausis - Caribbean Yellow-tipped Flasher
        • Telegonus cassander - Cuban Flasher
        • Telegonus cellus - Golden-banded Skipper
        • Telegonus habana - Frosty Flasher
        • Telegonus talus - Green Flasher
        • Telegonus xagua - Antillean Flasher
        • Urbanus proteus - Common Long-tailed Skipper
      • Hesperiidae : Hesperiinae >
        • Asbolis capucinus - Monk Skipper
        • Atalopedes mesogramma - Mesogramma Skipper
        • Calpodes ethlius - Canna Skipper
        • Carystoides mexicana - Mexican Ruby-eye
        • Choranthus radians - Radians Skipper
        • Cymaenes tripunctus - Three-spotted Skipper
        • Euphyes cornelius - Cornelius Skipper
        • Euphyes singularis - Singularis Skipper
        • Holguinia holguin - Holguin Skipper
        • Hylephila phyleus - Fiery Skipper
        • Lerodea eufala - Eufala Skipper
        • Nyctelius nyctelius - Violet-banded Skipper
        • Oarisma bruneri - Bruner's Skipperling
        • Oarisma nanus - Nanus Skipperling
        • Panoquina corrupta - Corrupt Skipper
        • Panoquina lucas - Purple-washed Skipper
        • Panoquina ocola - Ocola Skipper
        • Panoquina panoquinoides - Obscure Skipper
        • Parachoranthus magdalia - Magdalia Skipper
        • Perichares philetes - Caribbean Ruby-eye
        • Polites baracoa - Baracoa Skipper
        • Pyrrhocalles antiqua - Caribbean Skipper
        • Rhinthon cubana - Cuban Rhinthon
        • Saliana esperi - Perching Saliana
        • Synapte malitiosa - Caribbean Faceted Skipper
        • Wallengrenia misera - Cuban Broken-dash
      • Hesperiidae : Pyrginae >
        • Anastrus sempiternus - Common Anastrus
        • Burca braco - Braco Skipper
        • Burca concolor - Concolorous Skipper
        • Burca cubensis - Cuban Skipper
        • Burnsius crisia - Antillean Checkered Skipper
        • Burnsius oileus - Tropical Checkered Skipper
        • Chiomara gundlachi - Gundlach's Duskywing
        • Eantis munroei - Munroe's Sicklewing
        • Eantis papinianus - Cuban Sicklewing
        • Ephyriades brunnea - Florida Duskywing
        • Ephyriades zephodes - Zephodes Duskywing
        • Erynnis zarucco - Zarucco Skipper
        • Gesta gesta - Impostor Duskywing
        • Ouleus fridericus - Fridericus Spreadwing
      • Pieridae : Colladinae >
        • Abaeis nicippe - Sleepy Orange
        • Anteos clorinde - White-angled Sulphur
        • Anteos maerula - Yellow-angled Sulphur
        • Colias eurytheme - Orange Sulphur
        • Eurema amelia - Cuban Yellow
        • Eurema boisduvaliana - Boisduval's Yellow
        • Eurema daira - Barred Yellow
        • Eurema elathea - Banded Yellow
        • Eurema lucina - Smudged Yellow
        • Kricogonia cabrerai - Cuban Sulphur
        • Kricogonia lyside - Lyside Sulphur
        • Nathalis iole - Dainty Sulphur
        • Phoebis agarithe - Large Orange Sulphur
        • Phoebis argante - Apricot Sulphur
        • Phoebis avellaneda - Orange-washed Sulphur
        • Phoebis neleis - Neleis Sulphur
        • Phoebis orbis - Orbis Sulphur
        • Phoebis philea - Orange-barred Sulphur
        • Phoebis sennae - Cloudless Sulphur
        • Phoebis statira - Statira Sulphur
        • Pyrisitia chamberlaini - Chamberlain's Yellow
        • Pyrisitia dina - Bush Sulphur
        • Pyrisitia larae - Confusing Yellow
        • Pyrisitia lisa - Little Yellow
        • Pyrisitia messalina - Whitish Yellow
        • Pyrisitia nise - Mimosa Yellow
        • Pyrisitia proterpia - Tailed Orange
        • Pyrisitia venusta - Pale Yellow
        • Zerene cesonia - Southern Dogface
      • Pieridae : Dismorphiinae >
        • Dismorphia cubana - Cuban Mimic-White
      • Pieridae : Pierinae >
        • Ascia monuste - Great Southern White
        • Ganyra menciae - Cuban White
        • Glutophrissa drusilla - Florida White
        • Melete salacia - Black-striped White
        • Pontia protodice - Checkered White
      • Riodinidae >
        • Dianesia carteri - Caribbean Metalmark
      • Lycaenidae : Polyommatinae >
        • Brephidium exilis - Pygmy Blue
        • Cupido comyntas - Eastern Tailed-Blue
        • Cyclargus ammon - Nickerbean Blue
        • Cyclargus thomasi - Miami Blue
        • Hemiargus ceraunus - Ceraunus Blue
        • Leptotes cassius - Cassius Blue
        • Leptotes hedgesi - Hedges' Blue
        • Pseudochrysops bornoi - Antillean Blue
      • Lycaenidae : Theclinae >
        • Allosmaitia coelebs - Cuban Hairstreak
        • Chlorostrymon maesites - Amethyst Hairstreak
        • Chlorostrymon simaethis - Silver-banded Hairstreak
        • Electrostrymon angelia - Fulvous Hairstreak
        • Eumaeus atala - Atala Hairstreak
        • Ministrymon azia - Grey Ministreak
        • Nesiostrymon celida - Caribbean Hairstreak
        • Strymon acis - Bartram's Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon bazochii - Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon istapa - Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon limenia - Limenia Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon martialis - Martial Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon toussainti - Toussaint's Scrub-Hairstreak
      • Nymphalidae : Apaturinae >
        • Asterocampa idyja - Dusky Emperor
        • Doxocopa laure - Silver Emperor
      • Nymphalidae : Biblidinae >
        • Dynamine postverta - Mexican Sailor
        • Dynamine serina - Caribbean Sailor
        • Eunica heraclitus - Cuban Purplewing
        • Eunica monima - Dingy Purplewing
        • Eunica tatila - Florida Purplewing
        • Hamadryas amphinome - Red Cracker
        • Hamadryas februa - Gray Cracker
        • Hamadryas feronia - Variable Cracker
        • Lucinia sida - Caribbean Banner
      • Nymphalidae : Charaxinae >
        • Anaea cubana - Cuban Leafwing
        • Archaeoprepona demophoon - Two-spotted Prepona
        • Cymatogramma echemus - Chestnut Leafwing
        • Hypna clytemnestra - Silver-studded Leafwing
        • Siderone galanthis - Red-striped Leafwing
      • Nymphalidae : Cyrestinae >
        • Marpesia chiron - Many-banded Daggerwing
        • Marpesia eleuchea - Caribbean Daggerwing
      • Nymphalidae : Danainae >
        • Anetia briarea - Many-spotted King
        • Anetia cubana - Cuban King
        • Anetia pantherata - Great King
        • Danaus eresimus - Soldier
        • Danaus gilippus - Queen
        • Danaus plexippus - Monarch
        • Greta cubana - Cuban Clearwing
        • Lycorea halia - Tiger Mimic Queen
      • Nymphalidae : Heliconiinae >
        • Agraulis vanillae - Gulf Fritillary
        • Dryas iulia - Flambeau
        • Eueides isabella - Isabella's Heliconian
        • Euptoieta claudia - Variegated Fritillary
        • Euptoieta hegesia - Mexican Fritillary
        • Heliconius charithonia - Zebra Heliconian
      • Nymphalidae : Libytheinae >
        • Libytheana carinenta - American Snout
        • Libytheana motya - Cuban Snout
        • Libytheana terena - Antillean Snout
      • Nymphalidae Limenitinae >
        • Adelpha iphicleola - Iphicleola Sister
        • Limenitis archippus - Viceroy
      • Nymphalidae : Nymphalinae >
        • Anartia chrysopelea - Cuban Peacock
        • Anartia jatrophae - White Peacock
        • Anthanassa frisia - Cuban Crescent
        • Antillea pelops - Antillean Crescent
        • Atlantea perezi - Cuban Checkerspot
        • Colobura dirce - Mosaic
        • Historis acheronta - Tailed Cecropian
        • Historis odius - Stinky Leafwing
        • Hypanartia paullus - Antillean Mapwing
        • Hypolimnas misippus - The Mimic
        • Junonia coenia - Common Buckeye
        • Junonia neildi - Mangrove Buckeye
        • Junonia zonalis - Tropical Buckeye
        • Phyciodes phaon - Phaon Crescent
        • Polygonia interrogationis - Question Mark
        • Siproeta stelenes - Malachite
        • Vanessa atalanta - Red Admiral
        • Vanessa cardui - Painted Lady
        • Vanessa virginiensis - American Lady
      • Nymphalidae : Satyrinae >
        • Calisto aquilum - Cuban Dark Calisto
        • Calisto bradleyi - Bradley's Calisto
        • Calisto brochei - Broche's Calisto
        • Calisto bruneri - Bruner's Calisto
        • Calisto disjunctus - Western Cuban Calisto
        • Calisto dissimulatum - Mimic Calisto
        • Calisto gundlachi - Gandlach's Calisto
        • Calisto herophile - Cuban Common Calisto
        • Calisto israeli - Israel's Calisto
        • Calisto lastrai - Lastra's Calisto
        • Calisto muripetens - Guamuahaya Calisto
        • Calisto occulta - Hidden Calisto
        • Calisto sharkeyae - Sharkey's Calisto
        • Calisto siguanensis - Sand Calisto
        • Calisto smintheus - Cuban Rusty Calisto
        • Calisto torrei - Torre's Calisto
    • Download Species List
    • Thumbnails >
      • Papilionidae - Swallowtails
      • Hesperiidae - Skippers
      • Pieridae - Whites & Yellows
      • Riodinidae / Lycaenidae - Metalmarks, Hairstreaks & Blues
      • Nymphalidae - Nymphalids
    • Hostplants >
      • Picramnia pentrandra
      • Stachytarpheta jamaicensis
    • Other Wildlife >
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day 5 - 19 June - East of Baracoa

16/10/2016

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We checked out of the Rio Miel hotel, Baracoa this morning and headed just to the east of the town in search of an area that Rayner Núñez had asked us to visit. He said that there was a potentially new and undescribed species of Skipper here that he wanted us to look for! We turned off north on unmade roads and stopped and asked the locals for directions on the way. Today was Father's Day and this is a big thing in Cuba. Both Leandro and Douglas had been receiving calls on their mobiles from family and friends since breakfast this morning. Many people were carrying cakes, all decorated with blue and white icing, for the festivities.
Picture
Father's Day cakes
Rayner had been a little vague on how to find the place although he had sent a photo of the habitat and the name of the site. It soon became clear why when the road became more and more uneven and eventually impassable in our vehicle. We reluctantly gave up on the attempt and decided to park up and explore the lanes on which we had been traveling – what a good move! We didn’t find the skipper but there were a host of other butterflies including the endemic Orange-washed Sulphur Phoebis avellaneda and various larvae that kept us occupied for several hours, and two anoles including Cuban Brown Anole Anolis sagrei displaying which was the first time in all visits that we had seen one displaying by extending its dewlap.
Orange-washed Sulphur Phoebis avellaneda 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae male 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Cuban Green Anole Anolis porcatus 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Cuban Brown Anole Anolis sagrei 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
The lanes and paths were great habitat and we had our only sighting of the trip here of another endemic, the Cuban Peacock Anartia chrysopelea. Douglas has a good knowledge of Cuban plants especially butterfly larval foodplants and one of his first great finds here was a larva of Red-striped Leafwing Siderone galanthis. feeding on Casearia sp. They have a peculiar and distinctive forward and backward rocking motion when moving. Doug then proceeded to tell me that he had seen the the pictures on the website of an adult I had photographed at Soroa and that in fact it was a female laying on Casearia! I had been so focused on trying to get pictures at the time that I hadn't realised this - what an opportunity missed.
Yara to Majayara road © Lynn Fomison
Yara to Majayara road © Lynn Fomison
Red-striped Leafwing Siderone galanthis larva 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Red-striped Leafwing Siderone galanthis larva 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Lots more larvae followed including Impostor Duskywing Gesta gesta, Three-spotted Skipper Cymaenes tripunctus, Lime and Bahaman Swallowtail Heraclides andraemon and Hammock Skipper Polygonus leo.
Impostor Duskywing Gesta gesta larva on Indigofera 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Bahaman Swallowtail Heraclides andraemon larva on Citrus 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Lime Swallowtail Papilio demoleus egg on Citrus 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Lime Swallowtail Papilio demoleus larva on Citrus 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
It was getting quite hot by now and Leandro spotted some locals eating ice lollies. He went to investigate and reappeared shortly afterwards with ice lollies for all of us - just what we needed. Later Doug called me over to see another great find - larvae of the Mosaic Colobura dirce on a small Cecropia tree. The eggs are laid on the upperside of the leaves, unlike Stinky Leafwing Historis odius that lays on the underside, and the small larvae feed at first on leaf sections between the veins leaving the veins uneaten and on which they rest openly. Later they chew through the bases of the main ribs of the large leaves causing the leaflets to hang down forming a shelter under which the larvae live gregariously. We have only ever seen one adult so far on all our trips and these were the first larvae, but now we know what to look for...
Mosaic Colobura dirce hatched eggs on Cecropia 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Mosaic Colobura dirce hatched eggs and small larva feeding damage on Cecropia 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Mosaic Colobura dirce larvae on Cecropia 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Mosaic Colobura dirce larval shelter on Cecropia 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
We had a nice Dusky Swallowtail Heraclides ponceana fly close past us  - I've never yet seen one land or even take nectar but they are said to do so.
Cubans have a great sense of fun and this graffiti carved on some gourds growing on a tree caused us some amusement too. We saw Monk Skipper Asbolis capucinus and Great Southern White Ascia monuste larvae - surprisingly hard to find considering how common the adults can be. Doug also found two Proteides skipper larvae but wasn't sure which of the two species they were as he didn't recognise the foodplant and hadn't seen it before. Because of this we didn't keep them to rear them through to find out as without the right foodplant they wouldn't survive and we would be on our way further east in a couple of days.
Monk Skipper Asbolis capucinus 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Great Southern White Ascia monuste eggs 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Great Southern White Ascia monuste 2nd instar larvae 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Proteides sp larva 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Proteides sp larva 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
We drove back through Baracoa seeing the statue of Christopher Columbus (I wonder if it survived Hurricane Matthew?) as we went and then checked into the Porto Santo Hotel on the western edge of town. This was a great move as it has a lovely pool, great views, nice gardens, and good food and rooms - definitely recommended.
Picture
Christopher Columbus, Baracoa
Porto Santo Hotel, Baracoa © Lynn Fomison
Porto Santo Hotel, Baracoa © Lynn Fomison
Porto Santo Hotel, Baracoa © Lynn Fomison
Porto Santo Hotel, Baracoa © Lynn Fomison
Later we took a walk out along the airport road to the west and found several Hammock Skipper Polygonus leo and eggs and larvae. Like most species the larvae change considerably in appearance in the later instars. The fourth instar larva (bottom right) exuded a brown liquid as a deterrent when I opened the leaf shelter in which it was hiding and this has marked its head.
Picture
airport road, Baracoa
Hammock Skipper Polygonus leo 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Hammock Skipper Polygonus leo egg 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Hammock Skipper Polygonus leo 2nd instar larva 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
Hammock Skipper Polygonus leo 4th instar larva 19 June 2016 Baracoa © Tim Norriss
We saw 41 species of butterfly today and brought the total to 80 species in five days. We would only have found a small percentage of the eggs and larvae without Doug, and this was to be the the case throughout the trip so we are very grateful to him.
And the sting in the tale? There isn't one apart from that on this rather splendid 50mm scorpion found hiding behind a rock. I don't know if it would hurt as I didn't pick it up to find out.
Picture
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