| Mneme Tigerwing (Melinaea mneme (Linneaus, 1763)) |
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Scientific name: Melinaea mneme (Linneaus, 1763) Common name: Mneme Tigerwing Other names: Mneme Clearwing French name: Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Nymphalidae Subfamily: Danainae Wingspan: 70-80 mm. Biotope: Tropical forest. Geographic area: Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil. Flight time: All year round. Number of generations : Caterpillar: Host plant: |
The Mneme Tigerwing is a large black, orange and pale yellow butterfly. The fore wings show a black apex, a broad pale yellow median band and an orange base. The black apex is marked with four small pale yellow spots which are well separated except the two ones close to the costal edge. The limit between the pale yellow median band and the orange basal area bears three black spots. The one closest to the margin reaches this last one with a black band. There is a small pale yellow spot at the anal angle, a black band on the inner edge, a black cell spot touching an elongated black patch towards the base and another small isolated black spot. The underside of the fore wings is similar to the upper side except the presence of a line of small white submarginal dots which are far less visible on the other side. The hind wings are black with a broad orange band. The black band bordering the orange band on the costal edge is replaced, on the underside, by an orange area marked with three black elongated spots. There is a phenomenon of mimicry with Heliconius numata but this species never shows any line of white submarginal dots on the fore wings. |
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I have shot this picture at Roura, at Camps Patawa. This view shows the underside of the wings. |
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This view shows the upper side of the wings. The colour pattern on the upper side of the fore wings is similar to the pattern on the underside except the border of small white submarginal dots which is less visible. The costal edge of the hind wing shows a black band followed by a continuous orange band on the upper side of the wing. This is different from the pattern on the underside. |
André Bon November 2014