Notes on the Biology of Pteronymia Notilla (Ithomiidae)in a Costa Rican Mountain Forest

This report is one of a series of descriptive papers on the biology of species of ithomiid butterflies sympatric in one mountainous region of Costa Rica. It deals with the biology of Pteronymia notilla Butler &Druce. While a substantial amount of information is available on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Central American Ithomiidae (Fox, 1968), my reports (Young, 1972a,b)emphasize: (1)description of immature stages, (2)larval foodplant records, and (3)selected behavior patterns of larvae and adults. The eventual goal of these seemingly unrelated studies of different genera and species in the Ithomiidae is to describe the ecological and behavioral mechanisms that account for the observed local species diversity and structure of the ithomiid community at the single locality selected for study. While we are a long way from this synthesis, the present paper includes the kinds of information on life history that will provide the foundation for interpretation of community structure. Inherent in this approach to the community ecology of tropical butterflies is the conviction that local community structure in these organisms is determined to a large extent by generic and species differences in adult reproductive behavior and larval foodplant selectivity.