Asterocampa idyja, the cream-banded emperor,[1] is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.

Asterocampa idyja
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Asterocampa
Species:
A. idyja
Binomial name
Asterocampa idyja
(Geyer, 1828)
Synonyms
  • Doxocopa idyja Geyer, [1828]
  • Papilio herse Fabricius, 1793
  • Doxocopa idyja padola Fruhstorfer, 1912
  • Apatura argus Bates, 1864
  • Doxocopa argus f. armilla Fruhstorfer, 1912

Description edit

The upperside of the wings is brown in both sexes. The male forewing has white spots near the tip, and some yellow spots across the wing's center. The hindwing of the males has six dark eyespots that are submarginal. Females have much darker spots, which are more diffuse. Their forewing is not as hooked, and much broader than in males.[2]

Ecology edit

Adults are on wing in October.

Distribution edit

The species can be found in Cuba, Guatemala, the Isle of Pines and Mexico. They rarely appear on Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.[2]

Subspecies edit

  • Asterocampa idyja idyja (Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico) - dusky emperor
  • Asterocampa idyja argus (Bates, 1864) (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize) - banded emperor

References edit

  1. ^ "Asterocampa idyja". Zipcode zoo. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Dusky Emperor Asterocampa idyja (Geyer, 1828)". Butterflies and moths. Retrieved 23 February 2012.