The Bahamas Postal Administration has issued the butterfly stamp series features Zebra Longwing, Cloudless Sulphur, Julia, The Queen, Long-tailed skipper, and Gulf Fritillary on February 18, 2008. The issue stamps are six single postage stamps with different denomination value.
Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charitonius)
The zebra longwing or Heliconius charitonius is butterfly species belonging to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the Nymphalidae which has long, narrow wings. Its wings are black with light yellow zebra-like stripes. It has long black antennae.
The zebra longwing butterfly can be found in the southern United States from Texas to Florida, Central America and northern South America.
The caterpillar has a white body with long black spines and a yellow head.The zebra longwing caterpillars eat the leaves of passion flowers (Yellow Passionflower, Corky-stemmed Passionflower and Two-flower Passionflower).
The adult butterfly drinks the nectar of a wide range of flowers and also eat pollen . Because of their relatively long lifespan and their activity throughout the day, this is a popular species with butterfly houses. When it is disturbed, the zebra longwing butterfly makes a creaking sound by wiggling its body.
Julia (Dryas julia carteri)
Dryas iulia (often spelled julia), commonly called the Julia Butterfly, is a species of brush-footed butterfly from Neotropic ecozone (South America) member of the family Nymphalidae.
Dryas julia carteri is one of the subspecies of Dryas julia. Its wingspan ranges from 82 – 92 mm and colored orange with black markings. This butterfly is fast flier and frequents clearings, paths and margins of forests and woodlands. The species is popular in butterfly houses because it is long-lived and active throughout the day.
Its feeds on the nectar of flowers, such as Lantana, Shepherd’s-needle. Meanwhile the caterpillar feeds on leaves of passion vine such as Passiflora affinis and Yellow Passionflower.
Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)
The Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) is small to midsized butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its found in the Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas and Australasia. They are most common from Argentina to southern Texas and Florida.
The common habitat are open spaces, gardens, glades, seashores and watercourses. The adult feeds on nectar from many different flowers such as cordia, bougainvillea, cardinal flower, hisbicus, lantana and wild morning glory.
The male butterfly is clear yellow above and yellow or mottled with reddish brown below and the female is lemon-yellow to golden or white on both surfaces, with varying amounts of black spotting along the margin and a black open square or star on the bottom forewing. The Wingspan is ranges from 63 to 78 mm.
The Queen Butterfly (Danaus gilippus berenice)
The Queen Butterfly (Danaus gilippus) is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae (the brush-foots) with a wingspan of 70–88mm.
It is orange or brown with black wing borders and small white forewing spots on its dorsal wing surface, and reddish ventral wing surface fairly similar to the dorsal surface. The ventral hind-wings have black veins and small white spots in a black border.
The caterpillar feeds on the milkweed and sequesters chemicals that make it distasteful to some predators. It then goes through six instars, after which the larva finds a suitable spot to pupate. The adult emerges 7 to 10 days afterwards. Danaus gilippus has multiple generations a year.
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
The Long-tailed Skipper or Urbanus proteus is a spread-winged skipper butterfly and found throughout tropical and subtropical America, south Argentina and north into southern part of USA.
It cannot live in areas with prolonged frost. It is a showy butterfly, with wings of light brown tinted with iridescent blue, and two long tails extending from the hind-wings. The robust body is light blue dorsally. It has a large head, prominent eyes, and a wingspan (4.5 – 6 cm).
Gulf Fritillary (Dione vanilae insularis)
The Gulf Fritillary or Dione vanilae insularis is a striking, bright orange butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, sub family Heliconiinae.
The Gulf Fritillary is not closely related to the true fritillaries. It is a medium to large butterfly with wingspan of 6 – 9.5 cm.
Its underwings are buff, with large silvery spots.It takes its name from migrating flights of the butterflies sometimes seen over the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Fritillary is commonly seen in parks and gardens, as well as in open country. Cultivation of passion flowers in gardens has enabled the Gulf Fritillary to extend its range.
The larvae feed on species of passion flower. The larva or caterpillar grows till 4 cm in length , bright orange in color and covered in rows of black spines on its head and back.The larvae is poisonous if eaten by predator. (The information taken from Wikipedia and others resources)
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar