Butterflies and Moths
of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire

Barbulètènan
di Kòrsou, Aruba i Boneiru

Adolphe O. Debrot

&

Jacqueline Y. Miller

Plates by

Peter van der Wolf and
Foto Studio Tramm

Photofinishing by

Leon P. J. J. Pors

Foreword

Butterflies are a colorful and fascinating group of insects that have attracted a great deal of interest from naturalists in the past. In Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire they can be easily observed by both young and old, whether in the city or in the countryside. Yet, most people remain totally unaware of the many colorful species that can be seen and very little is known about the local occurrence and habits of these insects.

This booklet is a popular picture guide to the butterflies of the Leeward Dutch Antilles, brimming with colorful pictures and written with a succinct, easy-to-follow text. In light of the ever growing interest in the wildlife of our islands, this book fulfills a clear need for palatable information on a much neglected part of our fauna. Reading through the booklet, from page to page, one cannot but remain impressed by the large variety of colors and patterns displayed by our butterflies.

The information presented, demonstrates the overriding dependence of the butterflies on native plants as opposed to introduced plants. A large number of native species are largely restricted to natural woodlands and many are rare. The situation for many butterflies on Bonaire and Aruba is much more critical than on Curaçao. To preserve our butterflies for the generations to come, natural woodlands must be effectively protected and, wherever possible, native plants should be given preference over introduced plants.

There can be little doubt that this issue will contribute to a greater appreciation of the animal life of our islands. Hopefully it will also contribute to a more responsible attitude towards nature. The Carmabi Foundation has been on the forefront of natural sciences and nature conservation in the Dutch Leeward Islands for five decades now. Over the years the institute has brought forth hundreds of scientific contributions and scholarly books on the natural resources of these islands. I hereby congratulate the authors and the foundation with yet another beautiful contribution to the natural history of our islands.

Her Excellency, Mrs. M.D. Silberie,

Minister of Education and Culture of the Netherlands Antilles

Prólogo

Barbulètè ta un grupo di insekto kolorido i fasinante ku a atraé hopi interes sientífiko den pasado. Na Kòrsou, Aruba i Boneiru ta fásil pa un i tur opservá nan, sea ku ta den siudat, bario, kunuku, na playa òf den mondi. No opstante esaki, ta poko hende ta duna nan mes kuenta di e tantísimo barbulètè bunita ku tin na nos islanan, i ta mashá poko ta konosí di e kustumbernan lokal di e bestianan akí.

E nivel di interes den nos naturalesa ta oumentando dia pa dia kada bes mas. E buki aki ta un buki tokante barbulètènan di Kòrsou, Aruba i Boneiru ku hopi pòrtrèt kolorido i ku ta duna splikashon den palabranan simpel. Den esaki, e buki aki opviamente lo sirbi e nesesidat pa mas informashon simpel i interesante tokante un aspekto di nos founa ku a keda hopi neglishá. Lesando e buki aki, página pa página, e lesadó lo keda impreshoná di e variedat grandi di patronchi i koló ku nos barbulètènan ta demonstrá.

E informashon presentá ta mustra ariba e gran dependensha di barbulètè di matanan indígena na lugá di mata introdusí. Un gran kantidat di barbulètè ta prinsipalmente limitá na mondi natural i hopi sorto ta skars. E situashon pa hopi barbulètè na Boneiru i Aruba ta asta mas krítiko ku na Kòrsou. Pa preservá e founa interesante i kolorido aki pa e generashonnan binidero, lo mester protehá mondinan, i kaminda por, duna preferensha na mata indígena riba esnan introdusí.

No tin ningun duda ku e publikashon aki lo kontribuí na un mihó apresio di e founa di nos islanan. Ta di spera ku e lo kontribuí tambe na aktitut i kondukta mas responsabel pa ku nos patrimonio natural. Ya pa sinku dékada Fundashon Carmabi ta den vanguardia pa siensia natural i protekshon di medio ambiente ariba nos islanan. Den transkurso di añanan, e instituto a bini ku sentenáres di publikashon i buki riba nos rikesanan natural. Ku esaki mi kier felisitá e outornan i alabes e fundashon ku ya un mas kontribushon bunita na konosementu di e historia natural di nos islanan.

Su Ekselensia, Sra. M.D. Silberie,

Minister di Edukashon i Kultura di Antia Hulandes

About this book and usage of technical terms

This book is intended as a popular picture guide to butterflies and moths of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire. It is not designed as a field guide for biologists but is primarily intended to stimulate the interest of young conservationists, amateur naturalists, and the general public. To this end, the text is presented both in English and the native Papiamentu. Papiamentu spelling and usage differs between the three islands. The Papiamentu in this book is based on: Dikshonario Papiamentu – Hulandes, 2nd revised edition, by S. M. Joubert, 1999, and Spèlchèk version 1.0, by Fundashon pa Planifikashon di Idioma, 2001.

The information and photos presented in this picture book are based on studies conducted by the authors during the period 1996–2000, two papers of which have already been published in the Caribbean Journal of Science. While this book presents some general information on butterfly biology, technical information and details have been kept to a minimum and should be sought elsewhere. Useful sources of supplemental information have been listed under “Further Reading”. While the focus of this book is on the butterflies, a few striking or colorful moths are also featured. We present here general knowledge, including the current distribution of the species thus far recorded and welcome additional information.

At present there are no words to distinguish butterflies from moths in the Papiamentu language. Both animals are simply called “barbulètè”. We here follow Simons (1868) and use the terms “barbulètè djanochi” and the term “mòt” to refer specifically to moths. Both are expressions derived from the Dutch language. In the text we use the word “barbulètè” to refer only to butterflies and not moths. For the striking group of moths known as “hawkmoths” in English, we here use the term “barbulètè gabilan”. In Dutch this group is known as the “arrow-tailed butterflies” based on the “horn” or “spine” found on the hind part of the abdomen of the caterpillars of these species.

Local names for butterflies and moths also do not exist in Papiamentu. However, previous studies have shown that assigning relevant common names is essential for butterflies to be recognized and appreciated by the general public. As an aid to the development of an awareness of butterflies in the ABC islands, relevant Papiamentu names have been coined for all species pictured, and are preceded in the text by one or more English common name(s). The Papiamentu names were based on either color or appearance of the butterfly, its (local) host plant or existing English common names. Many English common names were adopted from one of the following sources: Carter (1992), Covell (1984), Gerberg and Arnett (1989), Haxaire (1995), Miller (1992) and Stiling (1986). Species for which no published English common names exist or could be found were given a common name based on the widespread practice of using the species name as a basis for the common name. These species have been indicated by an astrisk. Letters placed between parentheses behing each species’ Papiamentu common name indicate for which of the three islands each species can presently be confirmed by the authors.

Common names may vary from region to region and country to country. Scientific names are, however, standardized according to the system of Linnaeus and the International Rules of Zoological Nomenclature in which each name for a particular butterfly is composed of two parts. The first part is called the “genus” and indicates a group of related species to which a particular butterfly belongs, while the second part of the name is called the “species” and that name differentiates it from the others within its group. If the species has been further differentiated into a number of subspecies (or loosely defined, “races”), then a third name (subspecies) may be added to indicate this. The use of subspecies names is a matter for the specialist and has not been adopted in this picture guide, even though it is a practice often encountered in the scientific literature. Occasionally, there are species that may differ slightly in appearance (color, markings, etc.). These differences may due to environmental differences (for example, available foodplants or rainfall differences) or these butterflies may be sufficiently different to warrant a new description. There are a few such species in the list that warrant further study and documentation.

In the English language text, plant common names in English are followed by scientific names. If no common English name is given, then the scientific name comes first, followed by the local Papiamentu name, if such exists. To avoid unnecessary duplication, in the Papiamentu text only local common names are used, unless the plant has no local common name and the scientific name had to be used. The same protocol is applied in reporting butterfly names in the Papiamentu text. The current practice in Papiamentu is not to capitalize common names of plants and animals, while in English the practice is to capitalize, but differently for plants and butterflies. Maps of the islands show the approximate locations of the principal sites reported in the text.

The sizes of the butterflies presented varies from the large hawkmoths with wing spans of up to 15 cm, to the smallest lycaenids with wingspans of less than 2 cm. Butterfly size may also differ within the same species depending on the time of year and other factors influencing how well the specimen grew as a caterpillar. A scale bar equal to 1 centimeter in length is provided along with the principal image of each species to give a measure of its size. Most specimens shown here were photographed with a blue background. As a consequence, the natural colors of some of the more translucent specimens as shown are slightly distorted. In several cases in which male and female butterflies differ greatly in appearance, both sexes are shown. The ventral (bottom) side of the wings are also shown for selected species.

This picture quide would not have been possible in its present form without the willing cooperation of many individuals. Special thanks go to Leon Pors for his untiring efforts and devotion in the preparation of the images. Peter van der Wolf shot most slides while Foto Studio Tramm also did several. Michiel Koomen and Patrick Scannell contributed several species and or locality records for Curaçao, while Ans Mezas-Hummelinck drew a butterfly for which the specimen was too damaged to yield a useful photograph. We thank Brian Leysner and the remaining staff and students of the CARMABI Foundation for bringing several beautiful specimens to the authors’ attention, and Myrna Dovale as well as Cathleen Giterson for correcting our Papiamento usage. We further thank the publisher Trio-Actief for their professional advice, cooperation and a rapid turnaround of edited drafts of the manuscript. The authors are grateful for all the help received but accept sole responsibilty for all remaining defects and shortcomings. Major financial support for this publication was received from the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba. Additional contributions were made by Banco di Caribe and the Percy Henriquez Fonds.

This book is dedicated to the children of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire.

Adolphe O. Debrot & Jacqueline Y. Miller
September 2004

Meta di e Buki Aki i Uso di Tèrminologia Tékniko

E buki aki ta intenshoná komo un guia general pa identifikashon di barbulètènan di Kòrsou, Aruba i Boneiru. E buki aki ta primeramente pa stimulá interes di públiko, bishitantenan i tur ku stima nos islanan pa paga mas tinu riba nos barbulètènan, un grupo di insekto fasinante. Pa e buki aki por satisfasé e metanan aki, e tin teksto tantu na ingles komo na papiamentu. Ortografia i uso di papiamentu ta distinto ariba kada di e tres islanan. A basa e papiamentu den e buki aki ariba: Dikshonario Papiamentu – Hulandes, di dos edishon, revisá i oumentá, pa S. M. Joubert, 1999, i Spèlchèk vershon 1.0, pa Fundashon pa Planifikashon di Idioma, 2001.