Macrosoma hyacinthina
Macrosoma hyacinthina is a moth-like butterfly in the Hedylidae family. It was described by William Warren in 1905 and was originally placed in the genus Lasiopates. In 1986, Malcolm J. Scoble moved it to the genus Macrosoma.
Where it lives: Costa Rica, northwest Ecuador, and Fonte Boa in Brazil.
What it looks like: The wings are grey-brown with a faint violet shine and have translucent patches on both forewings and hindwings. On the forewing, the translucent area is crossed by a bar. The forewing is narrow and the base of the anal edge forms a small lobe, with a white subtriangular mark on the leading edge (costa). The hindwing has a weakly emarginate edge; the underside near the base has a small cuticular knob. Forewing length is 29–32 mm.
Male vs. female: The violet sheen is stronger in males and weaker in females. The hindwing of males is slightly emarginate and has a lobe with a knob on the underside; females lack this emargination, lobe, and knob. The antenna is not bipectinate. In males, the shapes of the gnathos, valva, and juxta in the genitalia are distinctive. The combination of violet sheen and large size helps distinguish this species from others with a similar wing pattern.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:16 (CET).