Notes on the morphology and larval development of Methona themisto (Hübner, 1818) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Ithomiini) from southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Little has been published on the natural history, immature stages and development of the Neotropical butterfly genus Methona Doubleday, 1847. In spite of being relatively common where it occurs, many aspects of the morphology and development of Methona themisto (Hübner, 1818) still are poorly known. Here we describe the morphology and duration of the egg, larval and pupal stages of Methona themisto in Southeastern Brazil. A single plant of Brunfelsia uniflora (Solanaceae) was chosen by the butterflies to lay their eggs, and larvae and pupae were reared on it. Adults were observed laying single, white eggs mostly on the abaxial surface of fresh leaves. All larval instars were black with 12 yellow bands, except for the first few days after molting, when they were dark brown with green heads and anal plates. The pupa was pendant, with a mean length of 2.24 cm. It was pale yellow with black stripes and the body was slightly bent where the abdomen joined the wing-pad apices. Mean duration of the pupal stage was approximately 14 d. We did not observe any relationship between pupal duration and weather conditions or the time of year.