Asterocampa idyja

Cream-banded emperor
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Asterocampa
Species:	A. idyja
Binomial name
Asterocampa idyja (Geyer, 1828)
Synonyms
Doxocopa idyja Geyer, [1828] Papilio herse Fabricius, 1793 Doxocopa idyja padola Fruhstorfer, 1912 Apatura argus Bates, 1864 Doxocopa argus f. armilla Fruhstorfer, 1912

Asterocampa idyja, the cream-banded emperor,^[1] is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.

Description

The upperside of the wings is brown in both sexes. The male forewing has white spots near the tip, and some yellow spots across the wing's center. The hindwing of the males has six dark eyespots that are submarginal. Females have much darker spots, which are more diffuse. Their forewing is not as hooked, and much broader than in males.^[2]

Ecology

Adults are on wing in October.

Distribution

The species can be found in Cuba, Guatemala, the Isle of Pines and Mexico. They rarely appear on Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.^[2]

Subspecies

• Asterocampa idyja idyja (Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico) - dusky emperor
• Asterocampa idyja argus (Bates, 1864) (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize) - banded emperor

References

1. "Asterocampa idyja". Zipcode zoo. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
2. "Dusky Emperor Asterocampa idyja (Geyer, 1828)". Butterflies and moths. Retrieved 23 February 2012.