From morphology to behavior aspects: Opoptera sulcius (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Brassolini)

ABSTRACT The Neotropical genus Opoptera Aurivillius, 1882 comprise the charismatic owlet butterflies. Information on the morphology of immatures and the natural history of the species is still incipient. This study describes the immature stages of Opoptera sulcius (Staudinger, 1887) and gives information on the natural history of the species. Host plants of Opoptera species are listed. Opoptera sulcius were reared in the laboratory from eggs, and high-resolution photos of the various stages were taken, including scanning electron microscopy. This study provides the first detailed description of the immature stages of O. sulcius, contributing with information about its morphology, natural history, and a summary of host plants for species of Opoptera.