Pierella is a butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 from the subfamily Satyrinae

Satyrinae

Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the Browns, is a subfamily of the Nymphalidae . They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diversity of brush-footed butterflies...

 in the family Nymphalidae

Nymphalidae

The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...

 found from Mexico through Central America to South America. The species of Pierella have larger hindwings than forewings, unique among butterflies. The oval green flash on the forewing is also unique. It is caused by diffraction

Diffraction

Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1665...

, the wing scales

Scale (zoology)

In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...

 forming a diffraction grating

Diffraction grating

In optics, a diffraction grating is an optical component with a periodic structure, which splits and diffracts light into several beams travelling in different directions. The directions of these beams depend on the spacing of the grating and the wavelength of the light so that the grating acts as...

.

Their caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s have been found on the host plants Heliconia

Heliconia

Heliconia, derived from the Greek word helikonios, is a genus of about 100 to 200 species of flowering plants native to the tropical Americas and the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in rainforests or tropical wet forests of these regions...

and Calathea

Calathea

Calathea is a genus of plants belonging to the family Marantaceae. There are several dozen species in this genus. Native to the tropical Americas, many of the species are popular as pot plants due to their decorative leaves and, in some species, colorful inflorescences. They are commonly called...

.

Species and subspecies

• Pierella amalia Weymer, 1885 (= P. lena ab. leucospila)
• Pierella astyoche (Erichson, [1849])
  • Pierella astyoche astyoche (= Haetera larymna, Hetaera [sic
    Sic
    Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
    
    ] astyoche)
  • Pierella astyoche bernhardina Bryk, 1953 (= P. astyoche f. obscura (nomen nudum
    Nomen nudum
    The phrase nomen nudum is a Latin term, meaning "naked name", used in taxonomy...
    
    ))
  • Pierella astyoche stollei Ribeiro, 1931
• Pierella helvina (Hewitson, 1859)
  • Pierella helvina helvina (= Haetera helvina)
  • Pierella helvina hymettia Staudinger, [1886] (= P. incanescens werneri)
  • Pierella helvina incanescens Godman & Salvin, 1877 (= P. incanescens costaricana)
  • Pierella helvina ocreata Salvin & Godman, 1868 (= P. ocreata (nomen nudum))
  • Pierella helvina pacifica Niepelt, 1924 (= Pierello [sic] ocreata johnsoni)
• Pierella hortona (Hewitson, 1854)
  • Pierella hortona hortona (= Haetera hortensia, Haetera hortona, P. hortona f. albopunctata, P. hortona f. ocellata)
  • Pierella hortona albofasciata Rosenberg & Talbot, 1914 (= P. albofaciata [sic] decepta)
• Pierella hyalinus (Gmelin, [1790])
  • Pierella hyalinus hyalinus (= Papilio hyalinus, Pierella hyalinus fusimaculata, Pieris dracontis)
  • Pierella hyalinus extincta Weymer, 1910
  • Pierella hyalinus schmidti Constantino, 1995
  • Pierella hyalinus velezi Constantino, 1995
• Pierella hyceta (Hewitson, 1859)
  • Pierella hyceta hyceta (= Haetera hyceta)
  • Pierella hyceta ceryce (Hewitson, 1874) (= Haetera ceryce)
  • Pierella hyceta latona (C.Felder & R.Felder, 1867) (= Haetera latona)
• Pierella incanescens (Godman & Salvin, 1877)
• Pierella lamia (Sulzer, 1776)
  • Pierella lamia lamia (= Papilio dyndimene, Papilio lamia, Papilio rhea, Pierella lamia f. fabriciana , Pierella luna ab. albina)
  • Pierella lamia boliviana F.M.Brown, 1948
  • Pierella lamia chalybaea Godman, 1905 (= Haetera lamia f. columbina)
• Pierella lena (Linnaeus, 1767)
  • Pierella lena lena (= Papilio lena, Papilio sectator)
  • Pierella lena brasiliensis (C.Felder & R.Felder, 1862) (= Haetera brasiliensis, P. lena browni, P. lena glaucolena, P. lena f. melanosa (nomen nudum), P. lena f. obsoleta)
• Pierella lucia Weymer, 1885 (= P. astyoche var. albomaculata)
• Pierella luna (Fabricius, 1793)
  • Pierella luna luna (= Papilio luna, Pierella luna f. rubra)
  • Pierella luna lesbia Staudinger, 1887
  • Pierella luna pallida (Salvin & Godman, 1868) (= Hetaera [sic] pallida)
  • Pierella luna rubecula Salvin & Godman, 1868 (= Haetera heracles)
• Pierella nereis (Drury, 1782) (= Papilio nereis)