FWS Focus

Overview

The Puerto Rican harlequin butterfly (quebradillana) is a medium size butterfly. The species wingspan is less than 3 inches wide and is characterized by its orange, brownish-black and beige coloration patterns. The male's abdomen is brownish-black on the dorsal side and has orange and brown bands on the ventral side. The female's abdomen is brownish-black with white bands. The chrysalis (pupa from which the butterfly (adult, or imago) emerges) of the butterfly is black, with orange and white dashes, and yellow pimples. Chrysalis size is slightly bigger than 1 inch. The caterpillar (larva) is dark orange with a brownish-black to black, thin sub-lateral line, over a thin line of white intermittent dots crossing the body from the head to anal plate. The larva is less than 0.19 inch in first instar (growth stage between molts) and about 2 inches in the fifth instar. The eggs of the "quebradillana" are greenish oily spheres, with a yellowish crown.

Scientific Name

Atlantea tulita
Common Name
Puerto Rican Harlequin
Puerto Rico harlequin butterfly
Puerto Rican harlequin butterfly
FWS Category
Insects
Kingdom

Location in Taxonomic Tree

Identification Numbers

TSN:

Geography

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Timeline

Explore the information available for this taxon's timeline. You can select an event on the timeline to view more information, or cycle through the content available in the carousel below.

20 Items

Listing

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4d

Critical Habitat

Listing

4d

Critical Habitat

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Listing

Apr 26, 2010

Apr 26, 2010 Listing (Substantial)
90-Day Finding on a Petition to List the Harlequin Butterfly as Endangered
  • Publication type: 90 day petition finding
Item 1

Listing

May 31, 2011

May 31, 2011 Listing (Warranted But Precluded)
12-Month Finding on a Petition To List Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly as Endangered
  • Publication type: 12m petition finding
Item 2

Listing

Oct 26, 2011

Oct 26, 2011 Listing
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 3

Listing

Nov 21, 2012

Nov 21, 2012 Listing (Warranted But Precluded: Resubmitted)
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: 12m petition finding
Item 4

Listing

Nov 21, 2012

Nov 21, 2012 Listing
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 5

Listing

Nov 22, 2013

Nov 22, 2013 Listing
Review of Native Species That are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 6

Listing

Nov 22, 2013

Nov 22, 2013 Listing (Warranted But Precluded: Resubmitted)
Review of Native Species That are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: 12m petition finding
Item 7

Listing

Dec 5, 2014

Dec 5, 2014 Listing
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 8

Listing

Dec 5, 2014

Dec 5, 2014 Listing (Warranted But Precluded: Resubmitted)
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: 12m petition finding
Item 9

Listing

Dec 24, 2015

Dec 24, 2015 Listing (Warranted But Precluded: Resubmitted)
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: 12m petition finding
Item 10

Listing

Dec 24, 2015

Dec 24, 2015 Listing
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Noticeโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 11

Listing

Dec 2, 2016

Dec 2, 2016 Listing (Warranted But Precluded: Resubmitted)
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notificโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: 12m petition finding
Item 12

Listing

Dec 2, 2016

Dec 2, 2016 Listing
Review of Native Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notificโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 13

Listing

Oct 10, 2019

Oct 10, 2019 Listing
Review of Domestic and Foreign Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened;โ€ฆ
  • Publication type: CNOR
Item 14

Listing

Oct 13, 2020

Oct 13, 2020 Listing (Threatened)
Threatened Species Status with Section 4(d) Rule for Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly and Designatioโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Proposed
Item 15

4d

Oct 13, 2020

Oct 13, 2020 4d
Threatened Species Status with Section 4(d) Rule for Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly and Designatioโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Proposed
Item 16

Critical Habitat

Oct 13, 2020

Oct 13, 2020 Critical Habitat
Threatened Species Status with Section 4(d) Rule for Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly and Designatioโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Proposed
Item 17

Listing

Dec 1, 2022

Dec 1, 2022 Listing (Threatened)
Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly and Designatioโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Final
Item 18

4d

Dec 1, 2022

Dec 1, 2022 4d
Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly and Designatioโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Final
Item 19

Critical Habitat

Dec 1, 2022

Dec 1, 2022 Critical Habitat
Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly and Designatioโ€ฆ
  • Publication type: Final
Item 20