Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law. Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay. Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, José Luis Cartes, Rebecca Zarza and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
Rhabdodryas trite banksi (Breyer 1939)
ENG: Straight-lined Sulphur
ESP: Hoja amarilla
JIZ:  Forewings square, slightly pointed at apices and smootly rounded costa. Hindwing rounded with almost vertical anal margin. Folded wing with straight outer margin abruptly rounded at anal edge and right-angled apex of forewing. Slightly sexually dimorphic. Poses with folded wings, cryptic underwing imitating a leaf and providing excellent camouflage. FLI: Fluttery but strong and straight.
UPP: M  (Fig 1) Uniformly lemon-yellow, slightly deeper basally on forewing and paler towards margins. F (Fig 2-3) Similar but with thin black margin to costa and outer edge of forewing, only slightly more noticeable at apex. Some individuals whiter with indistinct yellow blush at extreme base of hindwing.
UND: M (Fig 1) Imitates a leaf, with pale greenish-yellow or greenish-white base colour broken only by vertical greenish-brown line across postmedial section of both wings. F (Fig 2-3) Similar but with browner “straight line” and thin outer edge of forewing.
BOD: Head brown above. Underside of head and body concolorous with tone of underwing. Upperside of thorax black with yellowish-white hairs. Upper abdomen as upper hindwing. Antennae brown. Eyes bicoloured, pale greenish lower half, brownish upper half. Legs yellowish-white.
MMT: A medium-large Sulphur. No significant sexual difference in measurements. CL - 31.8mm (29.5-34.5mm); BL - 21.5mm (20-23.5mm); WS - 65.7mm (62-71mm); HW - 3.4mm (3-4mm); AL - 11.4mm (11-12mm); n=13 (3M 6F).
SSP: Uniform lemon-yellow upperwing pattern of male and some females similar to Phoebis sennae but readily distinguished by underwing pattern (both species habitually perch with folded wings), that of Rhabdodryas leaf-like, showing the diagnostic “straight line” across both wings and no spotting. Note also the quite different hindwing shape, almost triangular in sennae, rounded in Rhabdodryas.
ABU: Generally common to abundant often occurring in large numbers with other Coliadinids at flowering bushes.
HOS: Plants in the family Fabaceae including Inga, Pentaclethra macroloba and Senna and Brassicaceae. (Canals 2003).
Citable Reference: Smith P (2007) FAUNA Paraguay Online Handbook of Paraguayan Fauna Butterfly Species Account 5 Rhadodryas trite 
Last Updated: 3 September 2007.
References:
Canals G 2003 Mariposas de Misiones - LOLA, Buenos Aires.
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FIGURES 1 - PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith March 07); 2 - Encarnacion, Dep. Itapúa (Paul Smith 10 May 07): ; 3 - Encarnacion, Dep. Itapúa (Paul Smith 15 April 07):