wingspan : 40 mm
Naevolus orius naevus, Cielo Verde, and North East of Pedro Vicente Maldonado.
this specimen looks just like N. orius naevus ;
it is worth noting that, in butterfliesofamerica,
- Naevolus orius naevus would come from the Southern half of Ecuador Occidente,
- and N. orius orius would enjoy an unlikely geographic distribution: from Mexico to Costa Rica, and Trinidad, and the state of Para, Brasil,
but N. orius orius also flies in Reserva Rio Claro, Antioquia, Colombia, and we found it in different places in Sangay NP, from Macas to Méndez.
so, West of the Andes, we could have :
- in the North West of Ecuador either Naevolus orius orius, a widespread species which, maybe, has never been found West of the Andes up to now, or a new subspecies ?
- and, farther South, Naevolus orius naevus locked up in a cul-de-sac ?
if so, Reserva Cotacachi Cayapas could be the contact zone between these two ssp ?
so all appeared to be well until, in september 2021, David Geale took pictures of both orius orius and orius naevus on the very same spot, the small reserva natural Mangaloma, at an elevation of 800 m and 8 km as the crow flies NE of Pedro Vicente Maldonado.
