wingspan : 37 mm
Ithomiola floralis is an Amazonian butterfly ; there would be three subspecies :
- in the Guyanas and the Amazon basin, Ithomiola floralis floralis, characterized by a red rim on the wings, under and upperside,
- on the lower slopes of the Andes,
. at low elevations, from the SE of Colombia to Northern Peru, Ithomiola floralis cascella, characterized by a variable orange patch on the FW apex,
. at slightly higher elevations, and from Panama to Bolivia, Ithomiola floralis celtilla, only black, sometimes with an orange rim on both wings.
first point : how could one tell e floralis celtilla with an orange rim from floralis floralis ?
second point :
- in the North East we only found butterflies with the apex completely or partly orange,
- in Sangay NP, we found all possible forms, between 800 and 1100 meters,
- in the South East we never saw one individual with the apex orange ;
third point : specimens with a red/orange rim seem to be quite scarce in the Oriente, so, given the low number of records, we cannot find out wether the presence, or absence, of this rim follows some geographical logic ?
