Reference photo of a pinned Hamadryas laodamia specimen, upper side

Reference photo

Photo: Yale Peabody Museum; photo by Maggie Sullivan 2011 · Yale Peabody Museum (Entomology) · CC0 1.0 (cropped and resized). Not the specimen in Lucy’s drawer.

Tray 25 of 39

Hamadryas laodamia

(Cramer, [1777])

Order by November 30 for delivery by Christmas.

Your framed specimen is a different individual of the same species, chosen and mounted by Lucy.

  • Nymphalidae
  • Butterfly
For young explorers

This butterfly drinks juice from rotting fruit instead of flowers.

Like other cracker butterflies, it feeds on rotting fruit and other decaying matter rather than on flower nectar.

Catalog label
Family
Nymphalidae
Subfamily
Biblidinae
Tribe
Biblidini
Where it lives
Mexico - Amazon Basin

From the catalog of Lucy Garcia Salik, PhD. A mounted specimen from a licensed supplier.

Research notes

From published sources, not from Lucy’s catalog. Each note lists where it came from.

Where it lives

The sources split the range by subspecies. The Central American subspecies, saurites, is listed from southeastern Mexico through Central America to Colombia, northern Venezuela and Trinidad. One North American database also adds Surinam to its range. The nominate subspecies was described from Surinam. A museum exhibit page gives the species' origin more broadly as Central and South America. None of the sources here says the species occurs in Texas.

Life cycle

Like other butterflies, this species goes through four stages: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and winged adult. Photo collections from museums and reference sites show its early stages and its chrysalis. This is an overview only.

For grown-⁠ups

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