Some larvae at Grace Fallas’ butterfly farm
As a desert rat on my first trip to Costa Rica, I do not know the butterflies in the area. Fortunately, while Grace was servicing, she matched up her larvae with the adults pictured in The Butterflies of Costa Rica by Philip J. DeVries (1987, Princeton University Press). Without this assistance, I would have lots of pretty pictures but no clue as to whom is who. Hostplant information is also from this highly recommended book. If I return to Grace’s, I will take notes on which hostplants she uses, especially of Passiflora since there are so many species.
Tithorea tarricina pinthias (Ithomiinae). Hostplant: Prestonia portabellenis (Apocynaceae). This was my favorite of the species Grace rears. Though the photo shows the pupa as being green, it is actually very metallic gold with black lines. I suspect that to get a proper photo of it, one would need to bounce the flash off of gold-colored foil. They would make lovely earrings!

Papilio anshisiades idaeus (Papilioninae). Hostplant: Casimiroa edulis, Zanthoxylum, Citrus (Rutaceae). These larvae feed at night. During the day they cluster gregariously on heavy stems or in the corners of the cage.
Colobura dirce (Nymphalinae). Hostplant: Cecropia (Moraceae). As the photo shows, the larvae are gregarious. The pupae have just been sprayed with bleach in preparation for packing.
Danaus plexippus (Danainae). Hostplant: Asclepias curassavica, other Asclepias ssp., Matelea (Asclepiadaceae). The familiar Monarch occurs here, as does a subspecies of the Queen, Danaus gilippus, common in the Tucson area. A. curassavica occurs in Sonora.
Phoebis philea philea (Coliadanae). Hostplant: Cassia grandis, C. alata, C. leptocarpa, C. hayesiana, C. fruticosa (Caesalpinaceae). Both this butterfly and Cassia leptocarpa occurs in our area. Pupae of this species can be seen being prepared for shipment on Grace’s page.
Caligo eurilochus sulanus (Brassolinae). Hostplant: Heliconia (Heliconiaceae); Calathea (Marantaceae); Musa (Musaceae). Owl butterflies are popular species in butterfly houses. In the operations I have visited, they are reared on banana. Adults like rotting fruit. More photos of this species can be found in Mariposaria.
Morpho peleides marinita (Brassolinae). Hostplant: Macharium, Pterocarpus, Lonchocarpus, Platymicium, Swaartzia, Dalbergia, Mucana (Fabaceae). These immature larvae are four days old. You can see pupae of this commonly reared species in The Butterfly Farm.
Heliconius hecale zuleika (Heliconiinae). Hostplant: Passiflora oerstedii, P. vitifolia, P. auriculata, P. platyloba (Passifloraceae). Widely distributed at elevations from sea level to 1,700 meters, this species can be found virtually all habitats from rain forest to open pastures.
Dryas julia (Heliconiinae). Hostplant: Passiflora species in the Plecostemma group, but also Passiflora vitafolia and P. platyloba (Passifloraceae). This butterfly occurs occasionally in Arizona and is common in Sonora and throughout Central America.
Eueides isabella (Heliconiinae). Hostplant: Passiflora platyloba, P. ambigua (Passifloraceae). This is a very common butterfly that occurs throughout most of Costa Rica.
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