Hypolimnas octocula marianensis

Hypolimnas octocula marianensis
Mariana Eight-Spot Butterfly
Mariana Eight-Spot Butterfly on Guam
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Hypolimnas
Species: H. octocula
Subspecies: H. o. marianensis
Trinomial name
Hypolimnas octocula marianensis

Hypolimnas octocula marianensis, known as the Mariana Eight Spot Butterfly or Forest Flicker, is a subspecies of Hypolimnas octocula, the Eight-spot butterfly.[1]

The species is in found on Guam and Saipan in the Mariana Islands and feeds on two host plants: Procris pedunculata and Elatostema calcareum.[2] These two herbs grow only on karst limestone forest. It occurs with certainty only on Guam and is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The Mariana Eight Spot Butterfly suffers from numerous threats, including habitat destruction, competition from introduced species and increased predation from ants and wasps.[1]

References