Riodinidae : Riodininae
Dianesia aberrans Álvarez, Núñez, & Espeland 2025
Aberrant Metalmark
Dianesia aberrans Álvarez, Núñez, & Espeland 2025
Aberrant Metalmark
Description and Similar Species: Wingspan 28-32mm. Sexes similar though males have narrower more pointed wings. Its habit of often settling on the underside of leaves means that it can more easily be mistaken for a moth rather than a butterfly. It can easily be separated from its congeners by the following combination of characters: body very dark brown, thorax with three pairs of yellow dorsal spots; wings very dark brown with orange tones replaced by golden yellow.
Range: Endemic to Cuba and known only from a few localities in the deepest humid forests of the Sierra de Moa-Toa section of the Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountains of northeastern Cuba. Sympatric with Dianesia ramsdeni along its entire range. Found in serpentine sclerophyllous montane and lowland forest.
Status: It can be common but extremely local; adults fly in trails and forest clearings near streams. While males can be occasionally located inland, females are always found in the riverbanks where the host plants thrive.
Nectar Plants: Grisebachianthus lantanifolius (Asteraceae) and Rauvolfia salicifolia (Apocynaceae).
Larval Foodplants: Buxus marginalis.
Range: Endemic to Cuba and known only from a few localities in the deepest humid forests of the Sierra de Moa-Toa section of the Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountains of northeastern Cuba. Sympatric with Dianesia ramsdeni along its entire range. Found in serpentine sclerophyllous montane and lowland forest.
Status: It can be common but extremely local; adults fly in trails and forest clearings near streams. While males can be occasionally located inland, females are always found in the riverbanks where the host plants thrive.
Nectar Plants: Grisebachianthus lantanifolius (Asteraceae) and Rauvolfia salicifolia (Apocynaceae).
Larval Foodplants: Buxus marginalis.
Larva
Foodplants and Habitat
