Prepona laertes

Prepona laertes, the shaded-blue leafwing or Laertes prepona, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in large parts of Central and South America.

Prepona laertes
Female
Male
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Prepona
Species:	P. laertes
Binomial name
Prepona laertes (Hübner, [1811])
Synonyms
Potamis superba laertes Hübner, [1811] Morpho omphale Hübner, [1819] Prepona omphale Prepona laertes pallidior Fruhstorfer, 1904 Nymphalis demodice Godart, [1824] Prepona laertes ikarios Fruhstorfer, 1904 Prepona laertes penelope Fruhstorfer, 1904 Prepona laertes pallantias Fruhstorfer, 1916 Prepona laertes agathus Fruhstorfer, 1916 Prepona omphale renea Fruhstorfer, 1916 Prepona omphale abulonia Fruhstorfer, 1916 Prepona omphale devioletta Fassl, 1922 Prepona lesounderi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona laertes guaraunes Le Moult, 1932 Prepona joiceyi heringi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona joiceyi bouvieri Le Moult, 1932 Prepona joiceyi poleti Le Moult, 1932 Prepona [joiceyi] paraensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona joiceyi pebana Le Moult, 1932 Prepona joiceyi tapajona Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudojoiceyi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphale smithi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphala moureaui Le Moult, 1932 Prepona philipponi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona philipponi maroniensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona rothschildi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona rothschildi amazonica Le Moult, 1932 (preocc. Staudindger, 1886) Prepona rothschildi cuyabensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona lilianae Le Moult, 1932 Prepona lilianae blanci Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale decellei Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale foucheri Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale guiensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale yahnas Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale talboti Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale buenavista Le Moult, 1932 Morpho laertes Fabricius, 1938 (preocc. Hübner, [1811]) Prepona rothschildi homonyma Bryk, 1939 Prepona joiceyi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona joiceyi overlaeti Le Moult, 1932 Prepona joiceyi pseudodives Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudojoiceyi trinitensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona rothschildi venezuelensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale orinocensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphale amesia Fruhstorfer, 1905 Prepona joiceyi naranjensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudojoiceyi apollinari Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudojoiceyi fonquerniei Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudojoiceyi hondurensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudojoiceyi draudti Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphale subdives Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphale caucensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphale aquacensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphale guatemalensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphale panamensis Le Moult, 1932 Prepona omphale schausi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona pseudomphale lichyi Le Moult, 1932 Prepona subomphale Le Moult, 1932

The wingspan is about 88 mm. It is a very variable species and a great number of subspecies and forms have been described. Most of these are now considered synonyms.

The larvae feed on Inga vera, Inga ruiziana and Andira inermis.

Subspecies

• Prepona laertes laertes (Paraguay)
• Prepona laertes demodice (Godard, [1824]) (French Guiana, Brazil, Surinam, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia)
• Prepona laertes louisa Butler, 1870 (Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad)
• Prepona laertes octavia Fruhstorfer, 1905 (Honduras, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Ecuador)

Gallery

• 
  Male, underside
• 
  Prepona laertes laertes male
• 
  Prepona laertes demodice
• 
  Prepona laertes octavia