About Hamadryas glauconome honorina (Fruhstorfer, 1916)
This butterfly, commonly called the pale cracker, has the scientific name Hamadryas glauconome honorina (Fruhstorfer, 1916). Adult pale crackers have wings mottled in grey, brown, and white. They are very similar in appearance to the related grey cracker (Hamadryas februa). Like the grey cracker, pale crackers have small submarginal eyespots on the underside of their hindwings that include orange scales; these two species are the only members of the genus Hamadryas that have orange scales in their eyespots. The pale cracker can be distinguished from the grey cracker by its lack of a small red bar on the forewing. The pale cracker is native to Mexico, Central America, and South America, ranging south as far as Guatemala and Peru. It has been recorded as a vagrant in the United States: it occurs as a rare stray in southeastern Arizona, has one recorded sighting in south Texas, and has also been recorded in Florida. It inhabits open areas with scattered trees, including both moist and semi-arid environments. Adult pale crackers do not visit flowers; instead, they feed on rotting fruit, carrion, and mud. Adults habitually rest on tree trunks, where their mottled wing patterning makes them hard to spot. When another butterfly approaches, a male pale cracker will take flight and emit a cracking sound. If the approaching butterfly is also a male, it will respond with its own cracking sound, while a female will stay silent — this allows the male to identify and choose a mate of the opposite sex. In the evening, pale crackers gather on the trunk of a single tree before flying out to nearby trees and bushes to roost individually. Females lay their eggs on the leaves of vines in the family Euphorbiaceae; the confirmed host plant for populations in Guatemala is Dalechampia scandens.
