Memphis philumena

Memphis philumena
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Memphis
Species:	M. philumena
Binomial name
Memphis philumena (Doubleday, 1849) [1]

Memphis philumena is a species of leafwing butterfly found in Central and South America (Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Guyana). ^[2]

Subspecies

• Memphis philumena indigotica Salvin, 1869 ^[3]
• Memphis philumena xenica (H.Bates, 1864) ^[4]

Description

Memphis philumena has a wingspan of 55 mm to 60 mm. The forewings have a humped costal edge, angular apex, hook-like inner angle, and very concave inner edge. Each hindwing bears a tail. The upper part of the male is very dark, almost black with a metallic blue basal part. In females, the forewing is barred by a broad orange band that separates the apex, and the costal edge of the hindwing is marked with orange. The underside is shiny brown and simulates a dead leaf. The under surface of the male resembles entirely that of ates . ^{[5] [6]}

References

1. Doubleday, H. The genera of diurnal Lepidoptera, comprising their generic characters, a notice of their habitats and transformations, and a catalogue of the species of each genus; illustrated with 86 plates by W. C. Hewitson
2. • Savela, Markku (April 7, 2019). "Memphis Hübner, [1819]". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
3. Salvin, O. 1869 Description of new species of butterflies from tropical America Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (4) 4
4. Bates, H. 1864 New species of butterflies from Guatemala and Panama, collected by Osbert Salvin and F. du Cane Godman, Esqs. Ent. mon. Mag. 1
5. Comstock, W. P. 1961. Butterflies of the American Tropics: the genus Anaea. Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae. New York: Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 214pp, 30pl.
6. D'Abrera, B. 1988. Butterflies of the Neotropical Region, Nymphalidae, Satyridae. Victoria: Hill House. Pp. 680-723