Anartia fatima

Description

Anartia fatima, the banded peacock, is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is commonly found in south Texas, Mexico, and Central America but mostly studied in Costa Rica. This butterfly prefers subtropical climates and areas in which there is a lot of moisture, such as near rivers. It spends much of its time in second-growth areas, meaning woodland areas that have regrown after harvest. Its larvae feed on plants in the family Acanthaceae, while adults primarily feed on flower nectar from Acanthus species. The species is diurnal, meaning that they are active in the daytime and inactive at night. These butterflies face interspecies competition for nectar with other butterflies and must also compete with hummingbirds, who will chase them away. Parental care in this species is non-existent. The eggs are laid in low-lying host plant leaves and flower bracts. Several hundred are laid by a single female within the span of a few days, with only a small percentage of the eggs surviving to adulthood. Eggs take 5 days to hatch and the larvae complete 6 instar phases before pupation. After pupation is complete, adults emerge and fly of within 1–2 hours. This butterfly has no protective coloration and is not toxic to predators. It is the victim of predation by many bird, lizard, frog, and arthropod species. However, this butterfly is so ubiquitous that losses from predation do not cause endangerment of the species.