Terenthina terentia
species of butterfly
Terenthina terentia, the Terentia hairstreak, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1868 and is found in Central and South America in habitats including rainforests and cloud forests.
Ecology
The Terentia hairstreak's larval stage is a fuzzy caterpillar that feeds on the flower buds of parasitic plants in the stemsucker family Apodanthaceae which is a parasite on the tree Casearia. In addition, the larvae have a form of symbiosis with ants. The caterpillars produce a sweet-tasting liquid containing sugars and amino acids. The ants use physical stimulation to cause the caterpillar to secrete the solution and in return for this food source, the ants provide the caterpillars with protection from predators. The adult butterfly has markings on its wings that look similar to the flower buds in color and shape. Adults feed on nectar from various flowering plants including members of the family Asteraceae.
“Terenthina terentia” enters the record as species of butterfly. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Terenthina, terentia and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Terenthina terentia” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Terenthina, terentia and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q41805662. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1868.
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This entry incorporates text from “Terenthina terentia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.