Hamadryas (butterfly)
| Cracker butterflies | |
|---|---|
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| Hamadryas amphinome (red cracker) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Subfamily: | Biblidinae |
| Tribe: | Biblidini |
| Subtribe: | Ageroniini |
| Genus: |
Hamadryas Hübner, 1806 |
| Type species | |
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Papilio amphinome Linnaeus, 1767 |
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| Diversity | |
| About 20 species | |
| Synonyms | |
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Cracker butterflies are a Neotropical group of medium-sized brush-footed butterfly species of the genus Hamadryas. They acquired their common name due to the unusual way that males produce a "cracking" sound as part of their territorial displays. The most comprehensive work about their ecology and behavior is that of Julian Monge Najera et al. (1998).
Cracker butterflies are all fairly cryptic in their dorsal coloration, commonly covered in varying colored spots, mostly of which resemble bark; some are known to have little coloration, such as the Hamadryas februa.
This genus of butterflies are commonly found throughout South America to Arizona, where at least nine species can be found in Costa Rica.
They spend most of the day perching on trees, boulders, and other such surfaces against which they are camouflaged. The speckled species of Hamadryas are often hard to distinguish, and most often these butterflies have to be examined as set specimens. There are no recent revisions, but a general account was published by D.W. Jenkins.
Since cracker butterflies have camouflage, they are not poisonous and do not have a chemical defense. They are actually fed upon by rufous-tailed jacamars.
Male cracker butterflies are known for their ability to crack their wings, which is believed to either be for mating or to ward off rival males. They use trees as courting territories, as shown by experiments. They prefer tree bark that matches their wing coloration, while the presence of food, position of trees along flight routes, tree size, bark texture, and lichen cover are not associated with the frequency of perching on the trees.
Each species has a height range when perching but they perch higher when night approaches. The northern side of trees is less used and cardinal-direction side distribution is independent of time of day. Perches exposed to direct sunlight are less used in hot days. All species perch with the head downwards. Perching males frequently fly towards other butterflies.
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Wikipedia