Life History Descriptions of Adelpha naxia naxia and A. nea nea (Nymphalidae) From Costa Rica

Butterflies in the genus Adelpha Hübner (Nymphalidae) are a challenging group to identify owing to their convergence in wing patterns among species. Immature stage biology including morphology and hostplant relationships have helped clarify relationships in this group and will likely continue to do so. Here we report descriptions of the immature stages of two species, Adelpha naxia naxia (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867) and Adelpha nea nea (Hewitson, 1847), based on recent fieldwork on the Osa peninsula of Costa Rica. We observed A. naxia naxia caterpillars feeding on Vitex cooperi Standl. (Lamiaceae), and the immature stage morphology corroborates its position in recent phylogenetic analyses. The food plant of A. nea nea is Micropholis melinoniana Pierre (Sapotaceae), representing the first record of this host family for Adelpha and Neotropical nymphalids. Adelpha nea nea also appears unique in always developing through six larval instars. In addition to descriptions and discussion of immature stage biology and food plant interactions, adult observations are also provided