Baeotus deucalion male vs female, and eye colour

[mothylator]

South American lepidoptera not my expertise, but I have sitting in my aggregated collection a few baeotus species.
Specifically, I have three labelled deucalion, 2M and 1F. I inderstand there is no sex dimorphism, but even so, they all have the same shaped abdomen, same markings, same size, but the one labelled as female has distinctly reddish eyes, the other two have dark eyes. I personally can't sex these specimens unless I tease away the hairs at the rostral segments of the abdomen.
2 x Labelled as Males from Tingo Maria, the one labelled Female from Iquitos. All capture dates 2010-2014.

Could ayone shed some light on whether the eye colour is an identification criterion?
Also, is there a way of telling the sexes apart without teasing away the hairs on the tip of the abdomen?

Thanks.

[jmg]

Here is Baeotus deucalion (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1860), ♂ (I presume). Río Amacayacu (Amazonas, Colombia), October, 12, 2019. Photo: JMG.
The eyes look red.

 

And here Baeotus aeilus (Stoll, 1780). Same location and same day.

[mothylator]

Lovely pics!

How do you tell if the deucalion is male or female?
They have hairs covering the final tergites of the abdomen, which I will have to brush away to denude the abdo tip; and in photographs, the wings-up resting posture in life conceals the side view of the entire abdomen..?

I’d really like to know.

[jmg]

I must confess that I don't remember how I made the sexual determination ! Sorry ! Probably, because it matches totaly with the sample on BOA page :

www.butterfliesofamerica.com/ih01/Baeotus_deucalion_male_V_SPECIMEN_COLOMBIA_Amazonas_Rio_Amacayacu_27-XII-2001_Luis_Miguel_Constantino_i.htm

It is also possible that we examined the insect very closely after having photographed it and before releasing it. Still, I considered the photo to be that of a male.

There is also a criterion for determining the sex: the B. deucalion in my photo is engaged in "mud-puddling", which is usually a practice of males.

Note that these banks of the Río Amacayacu are very rich in butterflies and that both species can be found there at the same time and in the same place.

Río Amacayacu (Amazonas), October 12, 2019. Photo: jmg



Panacea prola prola (E. Doubleday, [1848]), Baeotus aeilus (Stoll, 1780), Dryas iulia alcionea (Cramer, 1779) and Urania leilus (Linnaeus, 1758). Río Amacayacu (Amazonas), October 10, 2019. Photo: jmg



Papilionidae and Pieridae on the bank. Río Amacayacu (Amazonas), October 10, 2019. Photo: jmg



Eurytides dolicaon deileon (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865) and Protesilaus telesilaus dolius (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906). Río Amacayacu (Amazonas), October 10, 2019. Photo: jmg



Finally, we can also note that at this moment (October-November 2020), if it weren't for this covid-19 abomination, I would be on the Río Amacayacu again!

Río Amacayacu (Amazonas), October 12, 2019. Before ....
 




And after the shipwreck !



 

[exoticimports]

Yasuni Research Station, Ecuador

Not sure which species it is, but looks male, and clearly has "red" eyes.

[jmg]

Seems to be Baeotus deucalion.

[hypanartia]

Oct 31, 2020 14:39:15 GMT mothylator said:

Lovely pics!

How do you tell if the deucalion is male or female?
They have hairs covering the final tergites of the abdomen, which I will have to brush away to denude the abdo tip; and in photographs, the wings-up resting posture in life conceals the side view of the entire abdomen..?

I’d really like to know.

You can see the genitalia with a simple hand magnifier, you probably don't need to take out any scales. If you see the uncus is a male.

But it is a more simple way, examining the first pair of legs. Females have and extra segment, and this first pair of legs are less hairy (look like different)

Finally for specifically B deucalion in the males, almost always the brown-orange ends abruptly in the M2 vein, but in the females pass that vein being similar to males/females of other species. This works mostly in all females I have saw which are very few.

 

[koji]

If you have the specimen, check the tip of forelegs. For Nymphalids, most males have hairy leg while females have less or no hairs and you can also see claws. Females tap their forelegs on the plant to taste the host plant before laying eggs.