wingspan : 45 mm
Graphita griphe is known to fly in Venezuela and Colombia (d’Abrera 1988) and is often referred to as Euptychia vesta.
we saw it at 2000 m and more at Pondoa, Runtun and Guarumales.
this modest butterfly benefited from the descriptors full attention, being given these successive names : Neonympha griphe, Euptychia vesta, Euptychoides vesta, Euptychoides griphe, Cissia ucumariensis, and today Graphita griphe ; five different Genuses !
in spite of this ongoing attention we were not able to find any work assesing wether the - visible - differences between the populations East and West of the Andes are constant or not ? and yet they are (see new facts page).
there are several constant differences between Graphita griphe populations East and West of the Andes.
the most obvious three are :
- the ground colour,
- on the HWUP presence of an eye-spot at the tornus, East of the Andes, always absent West of the Andes,
- on the FWUN presence of dark markings in the lighter postdical band, East of the Andes, always absent West of the Andes.
