Mesene is a genus in the butterfly family Riodinidae present in the Neotropical realm.
Riodinidae Mesene exhibit many color variations and combinations and vary by geographic region. The males have triangular, pointed, brightly coloured forewings and small ellipsoidal hindwings. In the wing veins the species exhibit great conformity, the second subcostal vein, the upper median vein in the forewing as well as in the hindwing rise before the cell-end. They rest well hidden on the under surface of leaves but fly when disturbed somewhat like geometrids for about 10 to 20 metres always keeping in the middle of the forest roads, in order to drop again into another bush. The larvae are lycaenid like, somewhat like woodlice, fluffily haired; that of M. phareus lives on the extremely poisonous Paullinia pinnata to the leaf of which also the small greenish-yellow pupa is spun.
Species
- Mesene babosa <small>Hall & Willmott, 1995</small> present in Ecuador
- Mesene bomilcar <small>(Stoll, 1790)</small> present in French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname
- Mesene celetes <small>Bates, 1868</small> present in Venezuela and Brazil
- Mesene citrinella <small>Hall & Willmott, 1995</small> present in Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil
- Mesene croceella <small>Bates, 1865</small> present in Mexico and Costa Rica
- Mesene cyneas <small>(Hewitson, 1874)</small> present in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru
- Mesene epaphus <small>(Stoll, 1780)</small> present in French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Brazil
- Mesene florus <small>(Fabricius, 1793)</small> present in Brazil
- Mesene hyale <small>C. & R. Felder, 1865</small> present in Colombia
- Mesene ingrumaensis <small>Callaghan & Salazar, 1999</small> present in Colombia
- Mesene leucophrys <small>Bates, 1868</small> present in Suriname, Brazil and Peru
- Mesene leucopus <small>Godman & Salvin, [1886]</small> present in Guatemala
- Mesene margaretta <small>(White, 1843)</small> present in Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Venezuela
- Mesene monostigma <small>(Erichson, [1849])</small> present in French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela and Brazil
- Mesene mygdon <small>Schaus, 1913 present</small> in Costa Rica and Panama
- Mesene nepticula <small>Möschler, 1877</small> present in French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil
- Mesene nola <small>Herrich-Schäffer, [1853]</small> present in Suriname, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil
- Mesene paraena <small>Bates, 1868</small> present in Brazil
- Mesene patawa <small>Brévignon, 1995</small> present in French Guiana
- Mesene phareus <small>(Cramer, [1777])</small> present in Mexico, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil and Peru
- Mesene philonis <small>Hewitson, 1874</small> present in Brazil
- Mesene pyrippe <small>Hewitson, 1874</small> present in Brazil
- Mesene sardonyx <small>Stichel, 1910</small> present in Colombia
- Mesene silaris <small>Godman & Salvin, 1878</small> present in French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guatemala and Peru
- Mesene simplex <small>Bates, 1868</small> present in Brazil
- Mesene veleda <small>Stichel, 1923</small> present in Brazil
Sources
Mesene sur funet
External links