Abstract
The larvae of this Ecuadorean insect (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) feed extensively on banana leaves. There are five larval instars during a two-month period; pupal development takes 18 days, and the adult lives about 55 days. The various stages are described and, in part, depicted in photographs. Details of the insect’s behavior and its relation to the host plant are given. Eight parasites attack the immature stages: an egg parasite, Xenufens sp. near ruskini Girault (Trichogrammatidae); a larval parasite, Apanteles opsiphanes Schrottky (Braconidae); the larval and pupal parasites, Sarcophaga lambens Wied; Sarcophaga sp. (Sarcophagidae), Achaetoneura sp., Winthemia sp. (Tachinidae), and Megaselia sp. (Phoridae); and a pupal parasite, Megaselia sp. An undetermined hemipteron preys on both larvae and pupae. Details of these associations together with data on the control effected by the parasitic flies are given.
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