Godart's Agrias
Prepona claudina
While their upper wings display dazzling, iridescent colors, the undersides are patterned like dead leaves, allowing them to instantly vanish against tree bark when resting.
- Scientific name
- Prepona claudina
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Nymphalidae › Prepona
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Tropical rainforests, specifically canopy layers and river margins
- Diet
- Fermenting fruit, tree sap, mineral-rich damp earth, and carrion
- Range
- Amazon Basin, Atlantic Forest, Andean foothills, Central America
- Size
- Wingspan of 70 to 90 mm (2.7 to 3.5 inches)
- Lifespan
- 2 to 4 months as an adult
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and localized over-collection for the insect trade
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. These butterflies are incredibly fast and usually stay high in the canopy. If one lands on you, it is likely sipping minerals from your sweat; remain still to enjoy the encounter. They do not bite or sting.
Photo: Roger Rittmaster, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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