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Adelpha lycorias, the pink-banded sister, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Adelpha lycorias has a wingspan reaching about 50 millimetres (2.0 in). The uppersides of the wings are generally deep brown, with black apex of the anterior wings. The anterior wings are crossed by a broad band of pink or crimson, irregular in its outer margin, commencing on the middle of the costa and ending at the outer margin. The undersides are chocolate colour, while the nervure, the lines between them and the submarginal line are black. The band of the anterior wings is almost white, slightly tinged with crimson.
This Neotropical butterfly is distributed from Mexico through Central America and much of South America, including countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, typically inhabiting tropical forests from lowlands to mid-elevations of 0–1500 meters, such as Amazonian lowlands, Andean foothills, deciduous forests, and cloud forests.
It exhibits sexual dimorphism and is divided into several subspecies, including the nominate A. l. lycorias in southeastern Brazil, A. l. lara in eastern Ecuador and Peru, A. l. melanthe in Guatemala and Central America, A. l. melanippe and A. l. wallisii in western Colombia, and A. l. spruceana in western Ecuador, with additional forms like pseudagrias and divina.
The larvae feed on plants in the families Moraceae (e.g., Cecropia species), Urticaceae (e.g., Urera spp., Myriocarpa longipes), and Cannabaceae (e.g., Trema micrantha), forming leaf shelters during development, while adults are known for fruit-feeding behaviors, including on rotting bananas and guavas, as well as visiting flowers like those of Mikania (Asteraceae).
Notable for its involvement in mimicry rings with ithomiine and heliconiine butterflies, A. lycorias contributes to the biodiversity of megadiverse regions like the Andes and Chocó hotspots, where it is relatively common in core ranges but rarer at distributional edges.
