V. G. Dethier.
Life Histories of Cuban Lepidoptera.
Psyche 47(1):14-26, 1940.

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Psyche
[March
LIFE HISTORIES OF CUBAN LEPIDOPTERA
John Carroll University,
Cleveland, Ohio
The life histories described in this paper are, for the most part, those of insects whose immature stages have hitherto been unknown. Also included are accounts which supplement the descriptions of species treated by earlier authors. Even the most meager notes are included here because it is felt that every fact however brief aids in the further study of a life history. For a list of previous studies of some of these species the reader is referred to Davenport and Dethier (1937). Color descriptions are based upon a comparison with Ridgway's (1920) color charts. This work was made possible by a Harvard University Fellowship which enabled the author to pursue research at the Atkins Institution of the Arnold Arboretum in Soledad, Cuba.
Calisto herophile Hbn.
Egg
Ivory yellow to white when laid. Nearly spherical. Cov- ered with a fine raised reticulation forming minute polyg- onal areas. A day or more after being laid the egg develops tawny-olive markings (Figs. 5, 6, and 8). First Instar
Head height .6 mm.; head width .7 mm.
General color
of head bronze. Entire surface covered with a fine irregular dark brown raised reticulation.
The background of the
frontal areas is lighter than the rest of the head. Ocelli
white. Edge of clypeus and mandibles dark brown. There are a few colorless tapering hairs and characteristic pro- tuberances (Fig. 3).
Body length 2 to 4 mm. Newly hatched
Pu&e 47:14-26 (1940). hup ttpsychu einclub org/47/47-014 html



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19401 Life Histories of Cuban Lepidoptera 15 larva ivory yellow striped with ochraceous-buff (Fig. 11). Anterior portion of body light ochraceous-salmon. After eating the anterior portion of the body becomes greenish. The mid-dorsal, para-dorsal, and suprastigmatal lines be- come brownish. The stigmatal and infrastigrnatal lines be- come dark greenish. The background of the body is now whitish green. On segments one and two at the para-dorsal line there is a black splotch slightly more anterior in position than the dark brown spiracle.
A few long colorless hairs
with bulbous tips are scattered over the body. Those on the posterior segments are the longest.
Those on the prothorax
are longer than the ones on the remaining thoracic seg- ments.
Second Instar
Head height .6 mm.; head width .7 mm.
General color
very light brown to gray. Surface granular. Three rather indistinct streaks composed of rather minute gray to fus- cous dots extend over the head. They merge to a varying degree (Fig. 1). On the posterior part of the head in par- ticular these three streaks are more or less continuations of the dorsal longitudinal lines of the body. The background is the color of parchment.
There are numerous short color-
less hairs arising from conspicuous black tubercles. Promi- nent on the sides of the head are two irregular black protuberances. Body length 4 to 5.5 mm. The wide dorsal, the thin paradorsal, and the wide suprastigmatal lines are sayal brown. On either side of the para-dorsals are irregu- larly marked light brown bands.
The black splotch in the
para-dorsal is largest on segment three. Between the su- prastigmatal and stigmatal lines is a thin band of plumbago blue. The stigmatal line is outlined with darker brown and the infrastigmatal line is plumbago blue. Spiracles dark brown. Ventum dead grass yellow. Many short colorless tapering hairs cover the body.
Third Instar
Head height .9 mm.; head width 1.0 mm.
Head differs
but little from previous instar.
It is lighter due to the
smaller extent of dark streaks. Body 6 to 8.5 mm. long. Bands on body more distinct. On each segment in addition



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16 Psyche [March
to the para-dorsal and suprastigmatal black splotches there is now a black spot on the border of the mid-dorsal line. Further changes in the body markings are shown in Fig. 9. The substigmatal line is white and very broad. Fourth Instar
Head height 1.25 mm.; head width 1.25 mm. The only
black now remaining on the head is an indistinct transverse band between the two prominent knobs, a short band extend- ing posteriorly from each knob to the foramen magnum, and a slight black area near the ocelli. Body length 9 mm. Not much change. Markings intensified.
Eggs were laid May 6 and 7 and hatched May 13 and 17 six to eleven days having elapsed. The first instar required seven days all moults having been completed by May 24. The second instar occupied from twelve to fourteen days with moults on May 29 and June 2. The third instar was completed in eight days and the fourth in ten. Many different species of grass served as food plants, but lawn grass was preferred.
Metamorpha stelenes insularis (Holland)
Egg
Dark pea green. Height 1.2 mm. Greatest diameter .9 mm. There are fourteen raised white longitudinal ribs. At the apex of the egg the ribs present a few serrations when viewed in profile. Here also they join to form a stem-like projection on the summit of which is located the micropyle. The base of the egg, the surface applied to the food plant, is perfectly flat. It is divided into faint minute polygonal areas.
First Instar
Head height .5 mm.; head width -75 mm. Smooth shiny black with a few long black hairs. These are in part micro- scopically serrate. Body 3 mm. long. Clear transparent burnt yellow. Green from gut shows through. Few long black serrate hairs arising from very large tubercles. Spiracles brown.
Second Instar
Head height .9 mm.; head width 1.0 mm.
Shiny black.




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19401 Life Histories of Cuban L,epidopt era 17 Bears two prominent dorsal spines.
Each spine 1.4 mm.
long.
Club-shaped and bears long and short black hairs (Fig. 10).
The long hairs are serrate. Body 6 mm. long. Shiny transparent, diamine brown. Anal segment fre- quently yellowish. Body later becomes dark shiny Danube green except for the last two segments. There are no con- spicuous spines on segment one. Segments two and three have but one spine in the pleural region in addition to para- dorsal spines. The mid-dorsal spines are lacking. The re- maining segments bear mid-dorsal, para-dorsal, suprastig- matal, and infrastigrnatal spines. The anal segment bears two mid-dorsal spines. All these spines are black. Third Znstar
Head height 1.3 mm.; head width 1.5 mm. Shiny black. Club-shaped dorsal spines 3 mm. long.
Hairs longer and
more numerous. Body length 10 to 13 mm. Body exceed- ingly dark chocolate to shiny black. Para-dorsal row of spines possesses large orange, fleshy bases (Fig. 2). Other- wise no change from preceding instar.
Fourth Znstar
Head height 1.8 mm. ; head width 2.0 mm. Dorsal spines now 6 mm. long. Body length 15 to 19 mm. No noticeable change from previous instar.
Eggs laid singly on the underside of leaves of Blechum blechum on May 4 emerged four days later on May 8. The butterfly oviposited only on seedlings.
The young larvae
ate the entire egg shell and for the duration of the first in- star ate the epidermal hairs of the food plant. The first instar was of three days' duration with moulting occurring May 11. The second instar required three days and the third, four days.
Anteos clorinde nivifera Fruhstorfer
Egg
Color varies from very light greenish to yellowish. It
may be white. Length 1.5 mm. Greatest diameter .45 mm. There are on the average fourteen longitudinal ribs. Only every other one extends to the tip of the egg. All are joined by many parallel cross striations which at the apex of the



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18 Psyche [March
egg form the micropyle rosette. The end of the egg bearing the micropyle is acute as compared with the base. First Instar
Head height .4 mm.; head width .25 mm. Head entirely colorless and transparent except for the black pigment of the ocelli. Bears a few long transparent hairs. Surface microscopically rugose. Body 4 mm. long. Light greenish yellow. Green from gut clearly visible. Numerous long colorless hairs. Body surface microscopically rugose. Second Instar
Head height .7 mm.; head width .5 mm. Body length 6 mm. Very similar to previous instar. Surface of head and body rougher. Hairs shorter and more numerous. Color same. Some individuals darker yellow.
Third Instar
Head height 1.0 mm.; head width .8 mm. Body 9 to 11 mm. long. Very similar to preceding instar. Hairs on head and body still shorter and more numerous. Fourth Instar
Head height 2.0 dm.; head width 1.7 mm. Yellowish green. Surface, rugose. Body length 12 to 20 mm. All parts of the body above the stigmata1 line are pea green. There may or may not be many indistinct pink transverse lines. The whole dorsal area of the body is studded with minute black hairs arising from conspicuous tubercles. The proportion of black to yellowish tubercles varies consider- ably but in all specimens there are exceptionally large black and occasionally iridescent tubercles just above the stig- matal line. Stigmata1 line and spiracles yellow. Substig- matal areas light yellow with yellowish to colorless hairs arising from tubercles of similar color. The hairs on the head arise from the same kind of tubercles. Fifth Instar
Head height 3.5 mm.; head width 3.0 mm.
Yellowish
green. Covered with many tubercles of the same color from which arise concolorous hairs.
Edges of mandibles fuscous.
Black pigment of ocelli visible. Body 35 mm. long. Spiracles cream to white in color. Dorsal areas of body clear light



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19401 Life Histories of Cuban Lepidoptera 19 pea green covered with microscopic blackish hairs arranged more or less in transverse rows on the tops of the transverse folds of each segment. Hairs arise from prominent tu- bercles. Lemon yellow interrupted suprastigmatal line very thin. Wide stigmatal line whitish green. Below the stigmata1 line the body is lighter green. The numerous hairs are longer and more lightly colored. Just dorsal to the stigmata1 line is an irregular line of black to iridescent tubercles of various sizes. They are most numerous on the thoracic segments, least numerous on the anal segments. Legs and prolegs light transparent green. Tips of claws on
legs slightly fuscous.
Chrysalis
Length 32 mm. Very light green to yellow. The anterior end terminates in a long thin club-shaped tip. In color this is burnt sienna.
From it extend two lateral lines
of the
same color. Each extends along the dorsal edge of the wing pad then continues as a suprastigmatal line. A mid- dorsal line of similar color passes from the first abdominal segment to the tip of the shallowly bifurcate cremaster. Edges of eyes same color. Body smooth with no prominent hairs or tubercles. The chrysalis is very stout-bodied in the thoracic region bulging considerably ventrally and slightly laterally. It is suspended in the manner characteristic of Pieridse and Papilionidse with a girdle around the thorax. Oviposition is most frequent in the late forenoon and early afternoon. The butterflies circle around large bushes of Cassia spectabilis, deposit a single egg, then another a few feet away. One insect may lay as many as fifteen eggs on a single bush at one visit and repeat the performance at a subsequent visit. Each egg is laid singly on the edge of the leaf. It is fastened by its blunt base but reclines on its side. Eggs laid May 4 hatched four days later on May 8. Each instar requires on the average four days. One larva which pupated May 5 emerged May 14, nine days having passed. Nathalis iole Bdv.
Egg
Characteristically pierid in shape. Length .6 mm. Great- est diameter .27 mm. Longitudinally ribbed. Often as many



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20 Psyche [March
as thirty ribs. The ribs are connected by faint cross stripes approximately .03 mm. apart. Usually not parallel. The color of the egg at the time of oviposition varies consider- ably. In one case a freshly laid egg lemon yellow in color was followed fifteen minutes later by one in which the larva was clearly visible through the colorless transparent shell. First Instar
Head height .2 mm. ; head width .28 mm.
Head smooth,
shiny black with few short pale hairs. Body length 1.5 mm. deep turtle green.
Few long fuscous spatulate hairs seat-
tered over body. Arise from large rounded tubercles. Two para-dorsal, red, fleshy protuberances on prothoracic seg- ment. Each crowned with a rounded shiny black spine. Second Instar
Head height .8 mm.; head width .9 mm.
Head black to
dark brown. Bears many short tapering hairs, colorless to light fuscous. Body length 4 mm. Prothoracic protuber- ances now bear several short hairs on their sides. Spatulate hairs of body now much shorter. Tubercles from which they arise relatively larger. Each segment now bears in addition to the spatulate hairs a pair of blunt shiny black hairs para- dorsally, laterally, and in the suprastigmatal position. All arise from prominent tubercles. Body dark greenish glau- cous with dark green mid-dorsal line and light green to white stigmata1 line.
Third Instar
Very little change from previous instar. Head light green. Fourth Instar
Similar to third instar. Head green to greenish yellow. Fifth Instar
Head height 1.2 mm.; head width 1.2 mm. Head light green to yellow. Otherwise not much change. Body length 17 mm. There is a wide variation in the coloring of the larva. The shade of green varies. Some larvae were grass green while others were dark greenish glaucous. Some possess a darker green mid-dorsal line while others have a bright red



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19401 Life Histories of Cuban Lepidoptera 21 interrupted line. The stigmata1 line ranges from light green to white. Numerous colorless hairs arise from prominent warts. The body is microscopically mottled with the warts arising from dark green areas. Areas between are lighter green. The blunt shiny hairs of the second instar are much reduced and not easily distinguishable from the other hairs of the body.
Short fuscous hairs on the head. Head surface finely granular.
Chrysalis
Length 6.5 to 10.8 mm. Typically pierid-shaped. Dark greenish glaucous. Mottled with light and dark green. Just prior to emergence the dark green mottling assumes a light fuscous appearance. On the wing pads this is in the form of dendritic more or less parallel lines in the same direction as the veins. Those on the tongue case are at right angles to the axis of the tongue. Fewer on abdominal segments; none in intersegmental areas. Absent on dorsal side of abdomen except for an irregular para-dorsal row of splotches. Mark-
ings increase laterally and ventrally.
Surface smooth. Cre-
master blunt. Spiracles rimmed with fuscous. Mouth-parts and especially antennae are frequently outlined in fuscous. Eggs were laid May 29 and 31. Some hatched two days later. The duration of the different stages of this species varies extremely. Color markings also show a wide varia- tion. Each instar may require from three days to a week or ten days. The pupal stage requires an average of seven days. Females have never been observed ovipositing earlier than nine o'clock in the morning. Eggs are laid on very small seedlings of Bidens leucantha. Many false starts are made before an egg is actually laid. A female may visit sev- eral seedlings and at each one go through the motions of oviposition without extruding an egg. Then she may lay several eggs in rapid succession each on a different seedling. Eurema lisa (Bdv. & LeC.)
First Instar
Head height .28 mm.; head width .3 mm. Head trans- parent and nearly colorless. Smooth with few hairs. Length of body 1.7 mm. Transparent yellow. Green in gut visible. Longitudinal rows of rather long fuscous tapering hairs.



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22 Psyche [March
Second Instar
Head height .58 mm. ; head width .6 mm. Head same color. Smooth. Numerous short fuscous hairs over entire surface. Length of body 4 to 5 mm. Same color as before. Mid-dorsal line dark green. Stigmata1 line light green. Numerous short black hairs arising from whitish tubercles. Those on
anal segment longest.
Third Instar
Head height .9 mm. ; head width 1.0 mm. Length of body 5 to 8 mm. Mid-dorsal line Danube green. Para-dorsal line shamrock green. Narrow stigmata1 line light turtle green. Remainder of body clear fluorite green. Other characters same as above.
Fourth Imtar
Head height 1.4 mm.; head width 1.5 mm. Head smooth. Fuscous hairs shorter and more numerous. Length of body 10 to 13 mm. Same as above.
Eggs laid May 31 hatched June 3 three days later. They were laid on the leaves of Mimosa pudica. The female de- posited the eggs most often on the top side of the vein of the leaf. She was not disturbed by the action of the plant which closed its leaflets against her abdomen. Upon withdrawal
of the abdomen the eggs were hidden from sight. Papilio celadon Lucas
Egg
Greatest diameter 1.0 mm. Height .9 mm.
Light green in
color. Nearly spherical. Surface smooth except for a faint reticulation forming microscopic polygonal areas. Food plant not determined.
Papilio polydamas L.
First Instar
Head height 1 mm. ; head width 1 mm. Head smooth, choc- olate. Few short black hairs.
Length of body 3 to 6 mm.
Body light chocolate.
Covered with minute whitish hairs
simulating a pubescence.
Larger black hairs on legs, anal
segment, and slightly protruding substigmatal areas. Spir- acles, legs, and thoracic shield dark chocolate. A row of



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19401 Life Histories of Cuban Lepidoptera 23 para-dorsal fleshy protuberances. Those on segments one, seven, nine, and twelve, yellow to light orange. Covered with whitish pubescence. Others more darkly colored with chocolate. Prothoracic pair longest.
Second Instar
Head height 1.5 mm.; head width 1.8 to 1.9 mm. Little
change from previous instar. Color similar. Fleshy proces- ses .longer and brighter yellow.
Body length 12 mm.
Third Instar
Head height 2.5 mm.; head width 2.8 to 3 mm. Head darker chocolate than preceding instar. Body length 18 mm. Darker chocolate. Processes brighter orange. Those on seg- ments one, two, and three are at the stigmata1 line. That on segment four is at the suprastigmatal line; that on segment five, substigmatal. All segments, the first excepted, bear the usual para-dorsal processes. Small pale processes at the bases of all the legs. Those on segments ten and eleven most prominent. All are clothed with microscopic fuscous to black hairs.
Fourth Instar
Head height 3.7 mm.; head width 3.9 mm.
Head light
chocolate early in instar but later becomes shiny black. Body length 22 mm. Dorsal anterior side of prothoracic proces- ses chocolate. Long and tapering. Tips of remaining proc- esses clothed with black hairs. Body chocolate. Dorsal, and to smaller extent, ventral side striped transversely with nar- row deep crimson bands.
Fifth Instar
Head height 4 mm.; head width 4.4 mm. Length of body 27 mm. Similar to preceding instar.
Each instar required from three to five days. The aver- age life cycle required thirty days. Larvae which hatched May 1 pupated May 21. The pupal stage lasted ten days. As food plant Aristolochia argyreoneuron was preferred, but the following species were eaten to a varying degree: A. ringens, A. forckelii, A. redicula, A. saccata, A. tagala, A. fimbriata, A. brasiliensis, A. cyrnbifera, A. elegans, A. gigan- tea, A. grandiflora, A. glandulosa, A. hians, A. indica, A. Kaernpferi, A. Roxburghiana, A. Ruiziam, and A. trilobata.



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24 Psyche [March
Hemiargus filenus Poey
Egg
Pale dull glaucous-blue. Greatest diameter .4 mm. Height .15 mm. Top surface noticeably concave. Surface with mac- roscopic polygons formed by a greatly raised reticulation. Polygonal areas further divided into microscopic polygons raised but little above the general surface. First Instar
Head height .1 mm. ; head width .15 mm. Head smooth shiny black. Usually retracted. Length of body .9 mm. Clear light green. Long tapering colorless hairs on body. Para-dorsal and substigmatal rows longest. Hairs usually directed posteriorly.
Eggs laid on Mimosa pudica May 29, 31, and June 1 emerged June 3, 4, and 5. The duration of the egg stage was usually five days.
Eggs were laid most frequently at
the base of a bud. As with N. iole the female made many false starts. An egg would be laid every ten to fifteen trials. Egg
Pyrgus syrichtus Fabr.
Cream color.
First Instar
Head height .4 mm.; head width .42 mm. Smooth shiny piceous, with few rather long whitish hairs. Length of body 1.5 mm. Body bears many colorless to fuscous hairs. Those on the prothoracic and anal segments are the longest and of the usual tapering type. Hairs forming the para-dorsal, lateral, and stigmatal lines are branched (Fig. 4). Those below the stigmatal line are of the usual tapering type. Body cream color.
Eggs laid May 22 emerged five days later May 27. Al- though Sida is listed as the food plant of these larvse, sev- eral local species of Sida were refused by the larvae which eventually died.
Cabares potrillo (Lucas)
Egg
Dark pea green. Greatest diameter .8 mm. Height $78
mm. Eleven prominent longitudinal ribs. These connected



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19401 Life Histories of Cuban Lepidoptera 25 by low cross striations (Fig. 7). Eggs failed to hatch. Food plant unknown.
LITERATURE CITED.
Davenport, D. and Dethier, V. G. 1938.
Bibliography of the described
life-histories of the Rhopalocera of America north of Mexico 1889-1937. Entomologica Americana, 27 (4) : 155-194. Ridgway, R. 1920. Color standards and color nomenclature. Washing- ton, D. C.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE 111.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.
Fig. 9.
Fig. 10.
Fig. 11.
Second instar head capsule of Calisto herophile Hbn. Ap- proximately x 50.
Para-dorsal spine of third instar Metamorpha stelenes insularis (Holland). x 35.
First instar head capsule of C. herophile Hbn. x 33. Branched hair of first instar Pyrgus syrichtus Fabr. Ap- proximately x 200.
Egg of C. 71erop71ile Hbn. Approximately x 18. Same.
Micropyle rosette of egg of Ca^ares pofrillo (Lncas). x 35. Same as Figs. 5 and 6.
Diagrammatic representation of the color pattern on an ab- dominal segment of the third instar larva of C. herophile Hbn. Approximately x 16.
Second instar head capsule of M. stelenes insiilaris (Holland). x 35.
Diagrammatic representation of the color pattern on an ab- dominal segment of the first instar larva of C. herophile Hbn. Approximately x 16.




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Psyche, 3.940
Psyche [March
VOL. 47, PLATE 111.
Dethier - Cuban Lepidoptera




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