EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Owl Butterfly in the House

Owl Butterfly (Caligo sp., cf. memnon), Family Nymphalidae
Mindo, Ecuador

Explanation:  Welcome to their house!  We are in the wonderful Butterfly House Nathaly Mindo, found in the town of Mindo, Pichincha Province, Ecuador, out in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains just northeast of the capital city of Quito.  

This butterfly is of genus Caligo that has some 20 or so species.  They are collectively known as "owl butterflies," named after large dark spots on the hindwings that, when opened, appear as large owl eyes.

Our closeup here rather highlights some of its other characteristics, including the mottled patterning of its thorax, its extended proboscis ("tongue") (but not really a tongue), and its compound eye:

Butterfly eyes are indeed compound, consisting of something like 17,000 individual elements, each with their own lenses and photoreceptors.

They can see into the ultraviolet, which can be most helpful for detecting patterns on flowers, on which they feed for the nectar (and can help pollinate the plants by transferring pollen).