Greta Oto, the Glass Winged Butterfly
The Greta Oto or the glass-winged butterfly is a butterfly that has attractive transparent wings with an opaque lining along the edges. It is mainly been found in Mexico and along the panama Islands. A fully developed adult can easily be seen in the groups when time comes for migration. They have been known to migrate for long distances as compared to other species of butterflies. When the glass winged butterfly lays eggs, the caterpillar that later develops from the larva is considered to be toxic. In fact, even a fully grown butterfly is considered to be toxic.
The Body
The wings of a glass winged butterfly have been estimated to be between 56milimeters to 61 millimeters. The body of this amazing butterfly is also something intriguing enough to capture even the attention of the busiest individual. First, it has those elegant translucent wings with edges ranging in color from brown to red or generally opaque. But the body is completely dark in color. The feature of having colorless wings seems to have been so distinctive that its Spanish name is Espijitos( also known as Greta Oto) which, when translated, in English literally means little mirrors.
Resource: http:// www. yesiknowthat. com / glass-winged-butterfly /
Habitat
A migratory butterfly, Greta oto is found in virtually all habitats in Costa Rica, including disturbed ones. It is often spotted passing through open areas, and sometimes visits gardens in the Meseta Central region.
Range
This butterfly is found in Costa Rica on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the country, from 500 to 1,600 m. This glasswing ranges from Mexico to Panama.
National Parks
Guanacaste National Park, Rincón de la Vieja National Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Palo Verde National Park, Carara National Park, Poás Volcano National Park, La Selva Reserve and Biological Station, Juan Castro Blanco National Park, Irazú Volcano National Park, Chirripó National Park, and La Amistad International Park.
Physical Description
The glasswing is so named because of its gloriously transparent wings. A brown to reddish-brown border helps make Greta oto’ s wings more visible. The upper part of the forewing also has a white stripe through the brown region. Glasswings lack the tiny scales on most of their wings that give other butterflies and moths their colors, so the wings are, literally, see-through. It is very hard for the eye to follow as the butterfly dodges between understory plants among patches of light and shadow.
These are hard to spot even when the caterpillars are undergoing metamorphosis: they transform into small pupae with a chrome-silver color that masks them as, perhaps, water glistening in droplets on stems. These pupae look like small mirrors, which is why they are called espejitos in Costa Rica. Adults have scaly antennae and an elegantly thin, brown body powering the delicate, clear wings( the veins in their wings are visible). Males have an additional feature to their wings: on the hind wing is a
1