They look very much like miniature swallowtails, with transparent wings marked with black veins. In all species the thorax is virtually devoid of "hair" and the palpi are extremely short. All Chorinea species have the same basic wing pattern but vary in the configuration and extent of the red markings on the hindwings.

Chorinea species mimics the bee's flight so any predators fail to catch them. Therefore they are also called bee-butterflies.

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Slægten Chorinea som består af 8 arter i tribe Riodinini, Riodinidae familien som alle sammen findes i tropisk America fra Guatemala til Panama i Mellemamerika, videre i Sydamerika langs Andesbjergene i lande som Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia. Og i Amazonas fra Brasilien, Fransk Guyana, Paraguay og Misiones i det nordlige Argentina.

De ligner små svalehaler med gennemsigtige vinger med sorte ribber & bånd med blå haler. På alle arter er thorax/ brystkassen næsten blottet for "hår" og palper/palpi er ekstrem korte. Alle Chorinea arter har samme grundlæggende ribbe mønster, som varierer i form og omfanget af de røde pletter på bagvinge analhjørne.

Chorinea arter efterligner biers flugt så eventuelle prædatore undlader at fange dem. Derfor kaldes de også Bisommerfugle.

Distribution:
Found in Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.

Amazonas Bisommerfugl, Chorinea amazon (Sauders, 1859)

Udbredelse:
Findes i Guyana, Surinam, Ecuador, Brasilien, Peru og Bolivia.

Habitats:
C. amazon & C. octauius found in the rainforest at altitudes between about 200-1000m, usually near streams. As all Chorinea species are very local and hard to find.

Behaviour :
The butterflies spend most of their time up in the trees, but there are also observed small groups of 5-12 butterflies. on the underside of the leaves at a height of about 5 m. The surface of the ground is almost always be seen individually. They fly in bright sunlight and can occasionally be found sucking minerals and pee on sand banks along streams. If the butterfly feels threatened, it radiates a yellow liquid from a gland on the chest.

Life cycle:
The eggs are pink and finely sculpted. They are laid in groups of up to a total of approximately 160 pieces on the underside of the leaves of the host plant which includes Prionostemma (Hippocrataceae) and Maytenus (Celastraceae) species. The newly hatched larvae are sitting in small groups, gnawing on the upper surface of the leaf. After the third stage they eat separately on the leaf, each larva lives in his own leaves which is spun. Chrysalis is also formed in the leaf are wound together.

Distribution:
Found in Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.

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Fabricius Angel, Chorinea octauius (Fabricius, 1787) Photographer; Lars Andersen

Fabricius Bisommerfugl, Chorinea octauius (Fabricius, 1787) syn. C. faunus.

Levested:
C. amazon & C. octauius findes i regnskoven fra højder mellem ca. 200-1000m, som regel i nærheden af vandløb. Som alle Chorinea arter er de meget lokale og svære at finde.

Adfærd:
Sommerfuglene tilbringer det meste af deres tid oppe i trækronerne, men der er også observeret små grupper a 5-12 stk. på undersiden af bladene i en højde på omkring 5 m. Ved jordoverfladen ses de er næsten altid enkeltvis. De flyver i fuldt solskin, og kan lejlighedsvis findes sugende mineraler og tis på sandbanker langs vandløb. Hvis sommerfuglen føler sig truet, udstråler den en gul væske fra en kirtel på brystkassen.

Livscyklus:
Æggene er rosafarvet og fint skulpturelle. De lægges i grupper af op til ca. 160 stk. på undersiden af bladene på værtsplante som omfatter Prionostemma (Hippocrataceae) og Maytenus (Celastraceae) arter. De nyklækket larver sidder i små grupper, gnaver på den øvre overflade af bladet. Efter 3. stadie spiser de enkeltvis på bladet, hver larve lever i sin egen blad som er spundet sammen. Puppe dannes også i blad der er spundet sammen.

Udbredelse:
Findes i Colombia, Venezuela, Surinam, Ecuador, Brasilien, Peru & Bolivia.

Habitats:
Found in the cloud forest , from altitudes between 1,400 to 2,800 meters. Are extremely rare and local in small ravines where they sit on the sand banks along streams, I have only seen it a few times in Yungas, Bolivia.

Distribution:
Found in the Andes Mountains eastern slopes of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

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Andes Bisommerfugl, Chorinea sylphina (H. Bates, 1868)

Habitats:
Findes i tågeskoven, fra højder mellem ca. 1400 til 2800 m.h. Er yderst sjælden og lokal i små raviner hvor de sidder på sandbanker langs vandløb, jeg selv har kun set den få gange i Yungas, Bolivia.

Udbredelse:
Findes på Andesbjergenes østlige bjergskråninger i Ecuador, Peru og Bolivia.

Ancyluris formosissima ssp: formosissima (Hewitson, 1870);
are present in tropical rainforests on eastside of Andean mountain, mainly in Sangay National Park in Ecuador.

Ancyluris formosissima ssp. venerabilis (Stichel, 1916);
can be found at an elevation from 1600- up to 3,000 metres above sea level in Manu Nationalpark, Peru to Caranavi highlands and Rio Zongo, Yungas, Bolivia.

Description: The upper sides of the forewings are dark brown with a blue-green band, while the base is white and brown. The hind wings are white, pink and brown, with a brilliant blue-green marginal band and a small red area. At the edge of the hind wings there is a short tail.

The wingspan: is about 38–45 mm.

Behaviors; The males, and less commonly the females, can be found imbibing moisture from bare soil or sandy riverbanks. They are nearly always encountered singly. Both sexes tend to avoid the heat of midday, preferring the cooler conditions of early morning or late afternoon. Even then they are more likely to be found in shady areas than in full sunshine.

It flies in August to September and February.

The larval food plants are maybe trees in the family Melastomataceae and Euphorbiaceae.