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Mila'sExotic Plants & CuriositiesA living collection by Luminary OdditiesLuminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Caligo telamonius
Lepidoptera / Nymphalidae
Caligo telamonius is a large Neotropical owl butterfly with prominent eye-like markings on its hindwing underside. Its regional forms include memnon and menus; adults feed on fermenting fruit and are active around dawn and dusk.
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The species occurs in Central and South America. The form memnon ranges from eastern and southwestern Mexico to Nicaragua; menus occurs from Costa Rica to Colombia. The nominate form was described from Colombia. [1][2]
At Siwiní in Mexico, C. telamonius memnon inhabits cloud forest. [3]
A captive colony studied in Colombia produced spherical white eggs that became light brown after four days and hatched after nine to ten days. Larvae passed through five instars, developing conspicuous head processes and a forked tail. The final instar was brown with longitudinal bands; the brown pupa bore paired silver patches on the wing cases. [4]
In that colony, larvae consumed young Musa and Heliconia leaves. Adults were maintained on fermenting banana, plantain, mango and papaya. [4]
Keep the enclosure closed and display it in indirect light, away from heat and damp conditions. Handle the frame by its edges and clean only its exterior according to the maker’s instructions.
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida · Accessed 2026-10-11
Warren and colleagues, Butterflies of America · Accessed 2026-10-11
Valeria García Bermejo, Jardín Botánico Francisco Javier Clavijero, Instituto de Ecología, Mexico · Accessed 2026-10-11
Castro-Ibarra, Pérez-Anaya and Guzmán-Soto, Revista Biodiversidad Neotropical 7(2), 76–85(2017) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Sources checked 2026-10-11. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
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