Anna's Eighty-eight is a butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 in wet tropical forests in Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. On rare occasions, it can be found as a stray in south Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. Its upperside is dark brown with a metallic bluish-green band on the forewings. The underside of the forewings are red, which is followed by a wide, black band and then white tips; the underside of the hindwings is white, with lines that approximate a black-outlined "88," giving the species its common name.

The caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s feed on tropical plants in the elm

Elm

Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...

 and soapberry

Soapberry

Soapberry can refer to:* Plants in the genus Sapindus, native to warm temperate to tropical regions in both the Old World and the New World. The berries of these plants contain a natural, low-sudsing detergent called saponin....

 families. Adults feed on rotting fruit and dung.

Subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 are:

• Diaethria anna anna
• Diaethria anna salvadorensis

External links

• Anna's Eighty-eight - close-up photo, taken near Teocelo
  Teocelo
  Teocelo is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz, located to 20 km from Jalapa-Enríquez on Federal Highway 180. It is bordered by: Ixhuacán, Xico, and Coatepec. The coffee of Teocelo is one of the better coffees produced in Mexico...
  
  , Veracruz
  Veracruz
  Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
  
  , Mexico
  Mexico
  The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
  
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