Vanessa Transformed. Siproeta epaphus, Rusty-tipped Page, on Speckled Eranthemum, Pseuderanthemum carruthersii, Butterfly House, Artis Magistra Natura, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Vanessa epaphus, that's how this pretty Butterfly was known until Jacob Hübner (1761-1826) came along in 1823. Johann Christian Fabricius (1745-1808) had used the name Vanessa - created by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) for a sweetheart of his - for a genus of these Butterflies in 1807. Hübner, though, for reasons of his own, devised the name 'Siproeta'; what it means remains unclear (see my www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/29857193144/in/photoli...).
This 'Epaphus' hails originally from the southern Americas, where it was seen, perhaps in Peru, by Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and his traveling companion Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (1773-1858) during their voyage 1799-1804. Their travelogue makes for exciting reading if you like voyages of discovery and amazement!
In the Butterfly Garden of the Amsterdam Zoo, our Page was feeding on Speckled eranthemum, Pseuderanthemum carrutherii (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/4910422194/in/photolis...).
I had to go out again in the rain, happy I'm not made of iron, for I'd have become as rusty as our Flyer!
Vanessa Transformed. Siproeta epaphus, Rusty-tipped Page, on Speckled Eranthemum, Pseuderanthemum carruthersii, Butterfly House, Artis Magistra Natura, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Vanessa epaphus, that's how this pretty Butterfly was known until Jacob Hübner (1761-1826) came along in 1823. Johann Christian Fabricius (1745-1808) had used the name Vanessa - created by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) for a sweetheart of his - for a genus of these Butterflies in 1807. Hübner, though, for reasons of his own, devised the name 'Siproeta'; what it means remains unclear (see my www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/29857193144/in/photoli...).
This 'Epaphus' hails originally from the southern Americas, where it was seen, perhaps in Peru, by Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and his traveling companion Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (1773-1858) during their voyage 1799-1804. Their travelogue makes for exciting reading if you like voyages of discovery and amazement!
In the Butterfly Garden of the Amsterdam Zoo, our Page was feeding on Speckled eranthemum, Pseuderanthemum carrutherii (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/4910422194/in/photolis...).
I had to go out again in the rain, happy I'm not made of iron, for I'd have become as rusty as our Flyer!