Sent when ready in June or July. These wonderful butterflies live in the tropical forests of Latin America from Mexico to Colombia and are without doubt one of the most spectaular insects on the planet. Adults spend a great deal of their time on the forest floor, but when looking for mates, they will traverse all layers of the forest. Adult butterflies sip the juice of rotting fruit, the fluids of decomposing animals, tree sap, fungi and wet mud, but a selection of cut oranges, rotting bananas, kiwi fruits and mangos is more than enough to entice them to the feeding table!
Eggs are laid on a variety of leguminous plants and the common peanut plant, or 'monkey nut' (which, as it's name doesn't suggest, is actually a legume), has been succesfully used to rear larvae in captivity. These plants are easily grown en masse from indivdual nuts. 2011 is our first attempt at breeding them and we are very hopeful that eggs and larvae will be available after June. European orders are sent entirely at the customers' own risk and will be sent as ova wherever possible.
Larval foodplants: coral tree (erythrina-crista-galli); mucuna; common peanut plant (arachis hypogaea), possibly trifolium and other legumes..
Breeding and rearing: greenhouse, conservatories, polytunnels or indoor cages with artificial heat and light.
