# Prepona

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Genus of brush-footed butterflies

Prepona Prepona laertes - MHNT Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Clade: Pancrustacea Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Tribe: Preponini Genus: Prepona Boisduval, 1836 Species About 25, see text

***Prepona*** is a genus of [Neotropical](/source/Neotropical_realm) [charaxine](/source/Charaxinae) butterflies in the family [Nymphalidae](/source/Nymphalidae). They are strong fliers in tropical forests where they feed on fermenting fruits and animal dung. The underside of the wings is pale greyish or brownish, while the upperside is dark with distinct [iridescent](/source/Iridescent) blue markings. A few species also have orange markings on the upperside of the wings. They are popular among [butterfly collectors](/source/Insect_collecting).

*[Prepona deiphile](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prepona_deiphile&action=edit&redlink=1)* is considered a threatened species in [Minas Gerais](/source/Minas_Gerais) state, [Brazil](/source/Brazil).[1]

## Description

*Prepona praeneste*

*Prepona praeneste*

"They are very robust insects, measuring four inches across the wings, which are broad and dentated, with the tip of the fore-wings much produced, but not falcate, the hind-margin being oblique and then nearly straight below; near the inner-margin of the hind-wings of the males stands a yellow tuft of stiff hair ([androconial tuft](/source/External_morphology_of_Lepidoptera)), as in *[Agrias](/source/Agrias)*. The wings are black, and are generally crossed by a broad blue or greenish-blue band, often interrupted below the costa of the fore-wings. In some species the whole of the wings is suffused with rich purple; in others the blue band is confined to the hind-wings, and is reduced to a blue blotch. The most beautiful species is *[P. praeneste](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prepona_praeneste&action=edit&redlink=1)*, Hewitson, from New Granada, which might easily be mistaken for an *Agrias*, but for the much broader fore-wings with the hind-margin concave. It is black, suffused with rich purple, and with a sub-marginal row of scarlet spots. From the base of the fore-wings runs a scarlet band, narrowly continued along the costa for three-fourths of its length, but, beyond the cell, continued in a broad curve to the band of spots at a point opposite the middle of the hind-margin. On the under side the *Preponas* are varied with different shades of brown and grey; sometimes there is a transverse black or white line, and very frequently a number of short irregular zig-zag lines towards the base. On the hind-wings beneath there is either a sub-marginal row of small eyes between the nervures, or two larger eyes, one towards the tip, and the other towards the anal angle; the latter is sometimes visible above. The larva and pupa resemble those of *[Apatura](/source/Apatura)*; and notwithstanding the strong and rapid flight of the Butterflies, they are not difficult to capture, as they have the habit of settling on projecting branches of trees, and are not easily alarmed". Description from [William Forsell Kirby](/source/William_Forsell_Kirby)'s *A Hand-book to the Order Lepidoptera* (1896).

The smooth, hairless larvae have a prominent thoracic hump which may be expanded to expose false [eyespots](/source/Eyespot_(mimicry)). The colour is variously dark brown and pale brown. The head bears a pair of stout recurved horns and there is a bifid tail. The pupa is green or bluish green with irregular white spots resembling lichen. It is an ovoid shape with a prominent thoracic bulge. It is suspended by the cremaster from a leaf or twig.

Rainforest in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

*Prepona* plate from [Seitz](/source/Adalbert_Seitz), 1915. Some [taxa](/source/Taxa) (e.g. *amphimachus*) here placed in *Prepona* are now placed in *[Archaeoprepona](/source/Archaeoprepona)*

## Habitat

[Rainforests](/source/Rainforest).

## Taxonomy

The members of the genus *[Archaeoprepona](/source/Archaeoprepona)* were formerly also included in *Prepona*. Species included in *Prepona*:[2][3]

- *Prepona* Boisduval, 1836 - *[Prepona deiphile](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prepona_deiphile&action=edit&redlink=1)* (Godart, [1824]) - *[Prepona dexamenus](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prepona_dexamenus&action=edit&redlink=1)* Hopffer, 1874 – Dexamenus prepona - *[Prepona laertes](/source/Prepona_laertes)* (Hübner, 1811) – shaded-blue leafwing or Laertes prepona - *[Prepona pheridamas](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prepona_pheridamas&action=edit&redlink=1)* (Cramer, 1777) – pheridamas prepona - *[Prepona praeneste](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prepona_praeneste&action=edit&redlink=1)* Hewitson, 1859 - *[Prepona pylene](/source/Prepona_pylene)* Hewitson, 1853 – narrow-banded shoemaker or pylene prepona - *[Prepona werneri](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prepona_werneri&action=edit&redlink=1)* Hering & Hopp, 1925

## Systematics

▼ Preponini Palla, Noreppa, Anaeomorpha (sometimes in Anaeini) Archaeoprepona Prepona Agrias

[Clade](/source/Clade) showing [phylogenetics](/source/Phylogenetics) of *Prepona*.

## See also

- *[Archaeoprepona](/source/Archaeoprepona)* ([sister genus](/source/Sister_genus)). Many *Archaeoprepona* species were formerly placed in *Prepona*.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Casagrande, M. M., Mielke, O. H. H., & Brown, K. S., Jr. (1998). [Butterflies (Lepidoptera) considered as threatened in Minas Gerais, Brazil]. *Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 15*(1), 241-259. (in Portuguese)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Nymphalidae Study Group website](http://www.nymphalidae.net/Classification/Preponini.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100217053951/http://www.nymphalidae.net/Classification/Preponini.htm) 2010-02-17 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) (which was based on an old version of [Markku Savela's pages](http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/charaxinae/prepona/index.html))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Garwood, K., Lehman, Carter, W., & Carter, G. (2007). *Butterflies of Southern Amazonia*. McAllen, Texas: Kim Garwood publisher.

- [Le Moult, Eugène](/source/Eug%C3%A8ne_Le_Moult) (1932). *Etudes sur les Prepona: lépidoptères rhopalocères américains* E. Le Moult, [Novitates Entomologicae](/source/Novitates_Entomologicae), 1932–1933.

- Feltwell, John (1993). *The Encyclopedia of Butterflies* Great Britain: Prentice Hall General Reference.

- Furtado, E. (2008). ["Intergeneric hybridism between *Prepona* and *Agrias* (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Charaxinae)"](https://journals.flvc.org/troplep/article/view/90221). *Tropical Lepidoptera Research*. **18** (1): 5–6.

- Muyshondt, Alberto (1973). Notes on the life cycle and natural history of butterflies of El Salvador. I. *Prepona omphale octavia* (Nymphalidae) *Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society* 27 :210-219. [pdf](http://images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/1970s/1973/1973-27%283%29210-Muyshondt.pdf)

## External links

- Media related to [Prepona](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Prepona) at Wikimedia Commons

- [BOA](http://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/L/t/Prepona_a.htm) Photographs of type specimens.

- ["*Prepona* Boisduval, \[1836\]"](http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/charaxinae/prepona/) at Markku Savela's *Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms*

- [*Prepona* images at EOL](http://eol.org/pages/19749/media)

- [Nymphalidae Systematics Group](https://web.archive.org/web/20060925080859/http://www.zoologi.su.se/research/wahlberg/Nymphalidae/Charaxinae/Charaxinae.htm)

- [Tree of Life web project: *Prepona*](http://tolweb.org/Prepona/70544)

- [Barcode of Life](http://www.boldsystems.org/views/taxbrowser.php?taxon=prepona)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*] Includes images

- [Pteron](http://www.pteron-world.com/topics/classification/nymphalidae/charaxinae/preponini/preponini2.html#prepona)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*] Images. In Japanese but with [binomial names](/source/Binomial_names) (Latin)

- [Prepona Info](https://web.archive.org/web/20090909172442/http://www.prepona.info/Prepona.htm) Photographs

- [Eugene Le Moult's Prepona types](http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/mcguire/allyn_pdfs/AME21small.pdf)

- [Janzen](https://web.archive.org/web/20191102150304/http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/caterpillars/database.lasso) photos of larvae and pupae. Via search Prepona + caterpillars

Taxon identifiers Prepona Wikidata: Q1757935 Wikispecies: Prepona BioLib: 324037 BOLD: 3796 ButMoth: 23861.0 CoL: 92KK5 EoL: 19749 GBIF: 1911943 iNaturalist: 148886 Insecta.pro: 14018 IRMNG: 1264208 LepIndex: 165872 NCBI: 127276 Open Tree of Life: 905805

Authority control databases National Israel Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Prepona](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepona) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prepona?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.