Agrias hewitsonius elata has been described in 2016 by Gilles Séraphin. As explained by the author of this interesting article, these specimens come from caterpillar gathered in the Esmeralda Valley (Peru) and bred in insect farms by some Peruvian entomologists. As far as we know, no elata has been found in the wild.
The patterns of elata, especially on the under side, are well different from the other known subspecies.
This said, until no specimen has been caught by famous entomologists in the wild, we all have to be cautious. The use of a different host-plant in the farm, the successive generations and other factors may trigger these forms too. Some collecting trips should be organized in the Esmeralda Valley.
Pictures of Agrias hewitsonius elata
You will find 10 Agrias hewitsonius elata pictured in Philippe Floquet’s Agrias book (2023)
Forms
No forms have been officially described, even if there are some interesting variations as you can see on the above plate or in Floquet’s book and Seraphin’s paper about elata..
Agrias hewitsonius available
Powered by Collector’s Secret. These Agrias hewitsonius are not sold by us but by some Agrias suppliers. Most of these will be the common subspecies (beatifica, beata, lachaumei) but from time to time, one Agrias hewitsonius elata will be available.
