Doxocopa cyane

Doxocopa cyane
	Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Doxocopa
Species:	D. cyane
Binomial name
	Doxocopa cyane; (Latreille, 1813)
Synonyms
	List Nymphalis cyane Latreille, [1813] ; Nymphalis cyanippe Godart, [1824] ; Apatura lucasii Doubleday, [1849] ; Apatura moritziana C. & R. Felder, 1867 ; Apatura lucasii boliviana Oberthür, 1914 ; Chlorippe cyane reducta Röber, 1916 ; Chlorippe burmeisteri Godman & Salvin, [1884] ; Chlorippe burmeisteri f. verdemicans Hayward, 1931 ; Apatura lucasii f. ornata Oberthür, 1914 ; Doxocopa cyane boliviana f. ornatina Bryk, 1938 ;

Doxocopa cyane, the Mexican emperor or cyan emperor, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.^[1]

Subspecies

Subspecies include:^[2]

Doxocopa cyane burmeisteri (Godman & Salvin, 1884) (Argentina)
Doxocopa cyane cyane (Latreille, 1813) (Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia)
Doxocopa cyane mexicana Bryk, 1953 (Mexico, Colombia)
Doxocopa cyane vespertina Lamas, 1999 (Peru)

Distribution

This species is present in Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.^[3]

Habitat

These butterflies inhabit cloudforest at elevations between about 600–1,800 metres (2,000–5,900 ft) above sea level.^[4]

Description

Doxocopa cyane has a wingspan of about 55 millimetres (2.2 in).^[5] The color of the wings varies by sex. Males show a brilliant electric-blue iridescence on the upperside of the wings, while the wings of the females lack this iridescence. Females have usually a brown ground color with wide longitudinal bands of orange and white on forewings and hindwings.^[4]

Biology

Larvae feed on Celtis spinosa.^[3]^[4] Males are solitary and territorial. They usually visit wet muddy patches and feed on rotting fruits, dung or carrion. Females mainly inhabit the forest canopy.^[4]