Hypolimnas octocula marianensis

Hypolimnas octocula marianensis, known as the Mariana eight-spot butterfly or forest flicker, is a subspecies of Hypolimnas octocula, the eight-spot butterfly.^[1]

Hypolimnas octocula marianensis
On Guam
Conservation status
Endangered (ESA)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Hypolimnas
Species:	H. octocula
Subspecies:	H. o. marianensis
Trinomial name
Hypolimnas octocula marianensis Fruhstorfer, 1912

The species is in found on Guam and Saipan in the Mariana Islands and feeds on two host plants: Procris pedunculata and Elatostema calcareum.^[2] These two herbs grow only on karst limestone forest. It occurs with certainty only on Guam and is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. The Mariana eight-spot butterfly suffers from numerous threats, including habitat destruction, competition from introduced species and increased predation from ants and wasps.^[1]

References

1. "Volume 9: Appendices" (PDF). Draft Environmental Impact Statement: Relocating Marines from Okinawa, Visiting Aircraft Carrier Berthing, and Army Air and Missile Defense Task Force. November 2009. p. 36. Retrieved 6 February 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
2. "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notice of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions" (PDF). Federal Register. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. December 10, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-05-08. Retrieved 6 January 2010.