Mestra (butterfly)

Mestra
	Female M. d. dorcas, Jamaica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Mestra; Hübner, [1825]
Species:	M. dorcas
Binomial name
	Mestra dorcas; (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
	Genus:; Cystineura Boisduval, [1836]; Species:; Papilio dorcas Fabricius, 1775; Mestra bogotana C. & R. Felder, 1867; Mestra amymone; Papilio mardania Cramer, 1779; Papilio hersilia Fabricius, 1777; Cystineura cana Erichson, [1849]; Cystineura bogotana C. & R. Felder, 1867; Cystineura floridana Strecker, 1900; Cystineura cowiana Butler, 1902; Mestra hypermestra Hübner, [1825]; Cystineura tocantina Bates, 1865; Cystineura amymone Ménétriés, 1857; Cystineura aurantia Weeks, 1902; Cystineura apicalis burchelli Moulton, 1908; Cysteneura hypermnestra sordida Hayward, 1931; Cystineura latimargo Hall, 1929;

Mestra is a genus of nymphalid butterfly. It contains the single species Mestra dorcas, the Jamaican mestra, which is found from southern North America to South America and possibly Mestra cana, the St Lucia mestra, found in the Lesser Antilles (though this may be a misidentification).^[1]

The wingspan is 35–50 mm. The upperside is gray white to light brown. There is a median row of white spots and an orange marginal band on the hindwings. The underside is pale orange with white markings. Adults are on wing year round in southern Texas, but it is most numerous from June to November. They have been recorded feeding on the nectar of Lantana flowers.^[2]

The larvae feed on (which may be a misspelling of ).

Subspecies[]

Listed alphabetically:^[1]

M. d. amymone (Ménétriés, 1857) (Louisiana to southern Texas and in Nicaragua, Costa Rica) – Amymone
M. d. apicalis (Staudinger, 1886) (Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil: São Paulo, Goiás, Pará)
M. d. dorcas Hübner, [1825] (Jamaica)
M. d. hersilia (Fabricius, 1777) (Guyana, Colombia, St. Lucia, Trinidad)
M. d. hypermestra Hübner, [1825] (Brazil: Pará, Paraguay)
M. d. latimargo (Hall, 1929) (Ecuador)
M. d. semifulva (C. & R. Felder, 1867) (Colombia)

References[]

^ ^a ^b Mestra at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
^ [1], Butterflies and Moths of North America

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[funet-1] Mestra at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms

[bamona-2] [1], Butterflies and Moths of North America

[1]

[2]

Mestra

Female M. d. dorcas, Jamaica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Mestra Hübner, [1825]
Species:	M. dorcas
Binomial name
*Mestra dorcas* (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
Genus: Cystineura Boisduval, [1836] Species: Papilio dorcas Fabricius, 1775 Mestra bogotana C. & R. Felder, 1867 Mestra amymone Papilio mardania Cramer, 1779 Papilio hersilia Fabricius, 1777 Cystineura cana Erichson, [1849] Cystineura bogotana C. & R. Felder, 1867 Cystineura floridana Strecker, 1900 Cystineura cowiana Butler, 1902 Mestra hypermestra Hübner, [1825] Cystineura tocantina Bates, 1865 Cystineura amymone Ménétriés, 1857 Cystineura aurantia Weeks, 1902 Cystineura apicalis burchelli Moulton, 1908 Cysteneura hypermnestra sordida Hayward, 1931 Cystineura latimargo Hall, 1929