wingspan : 48 mm
common as this species may be, during the first years in the National Park, we only found Orophila cardases near 9 de Octubre (1800 meters) ; this is the lowest elevation where we saw this butterfly, more frequently encountered at 2000 meters and above.
then we saw it at 2500/3000 m at Runtun and East of Atillo, and at 2000 m at Machay, then also at Guarumales.
the female is very scarce.
like Perisama tr. tringa, Orophila cardases has variable red markings on the FWUN ; but, in the case of Orophila cardases there is a possibility of a tentative correlation between the amount of red and the geographic area, the amount of red increasing when going South (see individual variation).
as illustrated on those pictures, the amount of red on the FWUN is very variable.
it would seem that there is more and more red when you go South ?
