Amazon rainforest butterflies

As a prelude to my trip to the Galapagos, I spent three nights in a lodge in the Amazonian rainforest in the north-east of Ecuador. There were a lot of lovely butterflies about, but most of them didn't sit still to have their pictures taken. The most spectacular was the enormous Blue Morpho, which I saw several times flitting on long wing-beats across a jungle clearing, but none ever landed that I saw and I gather that when they do they always fold their wings.
Some butterflies did approach more closely however, and this Malachite Siproeta stelenes intially landed on someone's jumper and I had to move it across onto a leaf to get a more natural photo!

This little butterfly, is the Meneria Metalmark Amarynthis meneria, a member of the Lycaenidae, the blues, hairstreaks and coppers. I spotted this one resting on a leaf and was told by our guide that it wasn't a butterfly but a day-flying moth. It's clubbed antennae still said butterfly to me and my reasearch since I got home identified it as definitely a butterfly:

When I spotted this one on a leaf as well, I was again told that it was a day-flying moth, but it is also a butterfly, the Daggerwing Marpesia crethon

Having lingered to photograph the butterflies, I hurried to catch up with my group and took a wrong turn. Realising my mistake, I hurried back and met our guide come to look for me. He turned me around again, saying it was an alternative route back to the Napo River. We then got there ahead of the rest of the party and he went off again to round up everyone else. I was left on a clay bank of the river and soon realised that a number of different butterflies were coming to the clay and licking up some minerals from the exposed banks. This gave me the chance of some more photographs. This one is Metamorpha elissa, sorry I couldn't find a common name:

and here is Metamorpha elissa again giving a much clearer view of its beautifully marked underwings:

Unknown # 1
From the same picture as the previous shot come these lovely butterflies, but I have not been able to identify them so far:

The Julia Butterfly Dryas julia also visited the clay banks for minerals, although I photographed it on a bush just above the clay:

Those were the only butterflies I got to photograph in the wild, but the Lodge where we stayed had a butterfly rearing and exporting business attached to it and a visit there gave a chance to photograph some more of the local butterflies.
I am not sure whether these were reared in the centre or just visiting, but they were on the outside of the cage housing the butterflies. This is one of the Owl Butterflies, I think it is Caligo idomeus. This picture is of the male butterfly:

and here is the female of Caligo idomeus:

Unknown # 2
The first butterfly I photographed inside the rearing cage I have not been able to identify:

The next one is Colobura dirce, again no common name that I could find:
Edited to add:
Thanks to konkreteblond I can now add a common name, this butterfly is known as the Mosaic.

This message was edited Feb 7, 2005 8:56 AM

Then the Chloe Cracker Hamadryas chloe

Unknown # 3
Then a swallowtail that I have not been able to identify:
Edited to add:
Now identified thanks to konkreteblond as the Ruby-spotted Swallowtail Papilio anchisiades

This message was edited Feb 7, 2005 8:54 AM

and finally the Red Cracker Hamadryas amphinome

Very impressive! Hard to pick a favorite -- the Daggerwing and the Julia have such unusual shaped wings, and the two Crackers that odd blue-turquoise color!

There were black swallowtails I observed from a boat on the River Li (near Guilan PRC) -- I remember thinking they flew more like birds, very directed-like, not 'floating on the breeze'... prolly not the same ones... (can't remember if they had yellow and pink bits on the wings...)

Good going, kennedyh!
~'spin!~

What a lovely and huge variety of butterflies to see all in one day! WOW! Thanks so much for sharing them all with us :-) I can't wait for all the construction around us to finish so all the homes will finishe their gardens and flying critters will become more abundant in our neighborhood.....

-Julie

All butterflies are very beautiful especially "Unknown # 3" , you are a nature lover man also...... fantastic beautiful plants have beautiful companions.
Kaleem

Those are all beautiful! My favorite tho is the daggerwing. It must have been wonderful to be able to see them outside of an exhibit.

I pulled out my Smithsonian Handbook (Butterflies and Moths) again and looked up a few things. It says that the Colobura dirce is called "The Mosaic". Your unknown #3 looks to be a Anchisiades Swallowtail (Papilio anchisiades). This book does have the hindwing pics of quite a few. I'm sure I'll be challenged to keep looking for your other unknowns.

Thanks konkreteblond, I am very pleased to have the common name of Colobura dirce and an identity for my unknown #3. I agree that #3 is probably Papilio anchisiades, although there seems to be a lot of variation in that species and very few pictures that I found on the web, show the tail that is obvious in my picture. Most sites seem to call this butterfly the Ruby-spotted Swallowtail

Looking again at the pic of #3, I don't think it is that Anchisiades after all. What I did not catch earlier was that yours has the tails on it's hind wings and the Anchisiades does not. They blended in with the background and I didn't notice them earlier. Hmmm....verrrrrryyyy interesting. It also has those tiny little heart shaped spots on the inside of the hind wings. You are so right, there are so many variations of each!! ...I really like that Chloe Cracker too!

Geezer-Wowsers Ken .. I'm failing miserably in keepin' up !!

I've gota try to make a better effort to keep up .. with so many of you !!

Excellent butterfly shots .. of some magnificently beautiful flutterbyes!

And, utter delight and some of the most pleasing 'eye' candy .. for this ol heifer.

- Magpye

It was the same with me... the butterflies just wouldn't sit still to get their pictures taken. I was afraid to dub around too long taking pictures too... fearing that I'd loose the group. If I got lost I'd probably still be out there.

This is an unfortunate blue morpho. He must have been nabbed by a bird and his wings were left behind.