Memphis forreri

Distinguished from other Memphis species by combination of: sharply pointed forewings with humped costal margin (not rounded); bright blue basal forewing area and subapical band; tailless hindwings in males versus spatulate tail in females; ventral surface with rusty-reddish forewing disc and distinct marbled pattern in anal angle. Similar to other leafwings but forewing shape and blue patterning are diagnostic.

Medium-sized butterfly with sexually dimorphic wing morphology. Forewings sharply pointed with humped costal edge, concave outer edge, hook-like inner angle, and concave inner margin. Hindwings tailless in males, with spatulate tail in females. Dorsal surface: ground color bluish-black to violet-blue or brown with purple reflections; forewing basal area bright blue with blue subapical band extending nearly to border, plus two confluent blue spots near anal angle. Ventral surface: pale brown with metallic reflections, simulating dead leaf; forewings with rusty-reddish hue in discal area, anal area marbled with brown and grey irroration.

Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala

Caterpillar feeds on Ocotea verguensis (Lauraceae). Adult diet not documented.

• Ocotea verguensis - larval host plantconfirmed host for caterpillar development

Named for Alphonse Forrer (1836–1899), English-born collector of zoological specimens in Mexico for the British Museum.

• Memphis speciescongeneric leafwings share dead-leaf mimicry ventrally; distinguished by forewing shape and blue pattern details
• Anaea speciesformer classification; M. forreri moved from Anaea based on morphological revisions

• leafwing
• dead-leaf mimicry
• sexual dimorphism
• Central America
• Lauraceae specialist

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy