Consul_fabius Knowpia

Tiger leafwing
	Ventral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Consul
Species:	C. fabius
Binomial name
	Consul fabius; (Cramer, 1776)
Synonyms
	Numerous, see text

Consul fabius, the tiger leafwing, is the most common and well known species of the genus Consul of subfamily Charaxinae in the brush-footed butterfly family (Nymphalidae). It is found all over the Neotropics.

Description edit

Chrysalis

The length of the forewings reaches about 30–40 millimetres (1.2–1.6 in). The uppersides of the wings have a bright orange and black pattern, with two yellow bands across the angular forewings. The hindwings are tailed. This butterfly is part of a mimicry ring, as a matter of fact the cryptic undersides of the wings mimic a dead leaf. The eggs are laid on the leaves of various species of Piperaceae (Piper tuberculatum, Piper auritum, Piper umbellatum, etc.), of which the caterpillars feed. The caterpillars are dark green with reddish spots along the back, while the chrysalis are pale green.

Distribution edit

Consul fabius occurs from Mexico to the Amazon basin (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela).^[1]

Habitat edit

This species is present in deciduous forest, rainforest, and cloud forest. It usually prefers the forest canopy, the banks of rivers and the forest edges, at elevations between sea level and about 1200 m.