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Mila'sExotic Plants & CuriositiesA living collection by Luminary OdditiesLuminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Diaethria clymena
Lepidoptera / Nymphalidae
Diaethria clymena has black upperwings crossed by iridescent blue and a red, white and black underside whose hindwing pattern resembles the numeral 88. Brazilian studies of the form janeira document solitary eggs and caterpillars that rest on slender shelters built from the leaf midrib, silk and frass.
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The upperwings are black with an iridescent blue forewing band. Beneath, red and white fields are divided by black lines; the paired hindwing loops resemble the numerals 88. The thickness and form of these lines vary among subspecies. [1]
At the Campinas study sites, females deposited eggs singly beneath leaves near the petiole. Newly hatched larvae ate the eggshell before moving to the leaf tip. The fifth-instar larva was green with long, branched head processes; yellow body stripes disappeared before pupation. The green pupa retained a yellow lateral stripe and small pale dorsal spots. [2]
First- to third-instar larvae fed at the leaf tip while leaving the central vein intact. They extended this vein with frass and silk to form a narrow resting structure. Older larvae raised the head and front of the body when disturbed, then wriggled under continued stimulation. [2]
A 2021 genomic analysis grouped Diaethria and Perisama within Callicore on the basis of their close relationships and relative genetic divergence. The species epithet clymena remains the same under either generic treatment. [3]
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.
Fabiola G. Gonzales, The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies(2015) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Barbosa, Kaminski and Freitas, Zoologia 27(5), 696–702(2010) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Zhang, Cong, Shen, Opler and Grishin, The Taxonomic Report 9(3), 1–54(2021) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Sources checked 2026-10-11. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
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