The Butterflies of the World Foundation
A Non-
Orange-
Chalodeta chaonitis, Hewitson, 1866
Subfamily Riodininae
Chalodeta chaonitis, Foetoenakaba village, Suriname, 1 June 2007 Ref #: I-
Taxonomy
The family Riodinidae is made up of approximately 1300 species divided into three subfamilies. Most of these butterflies are tropical and many have shiny, metallic looking bands on their wings which give them their common name of metalmarks. Some of the Neotropical species are outrageously colored with reflective scales of every color and hue. The family is made up of three subfamilies; the Euselasiini and Riodininae which are from the New World, and the Nemeobiinae from the Old World. The Riodinids are small to medium in size. The males have front legs that are reduced and not used for walking, whereas the females have three pairs of walking legs. Some species perch with wings open, some with wings closed and some with their wings at an angle. Many will perch upside down under a leaf and many species live high in the tropical canopy and are very poorly understood.
Chalodeta chaonitis, Foetoenakaba village, Suriname, 1 June 2007 Ref #: I-
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General Information:
Chalodeta chaonitis belongs to the subfamily Riodininae. It can be found from Mexico south to Brazil. It inhabits the forest understory and like others in this group is commonly seen in light gaps in the forest. It is also found along forest edges.
Lifecycle:
The larval food source for this species are the flowers of Miconia longifolia, in the family Melastomataceae.