Introduction

The subfamily Apaturinae is of worldwide distribution and comprises of several genera of large and powerfully flying butterflies among which are Apatura, Doxocopa and Mimathyma. Most have dark brown uppersides, banded with white. The males of most species reflect an iridescent purple-blue sheen.

The genus Mimathyma comprises of a single species ambica. It occurs in north-east India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and northern Sumatra.

Habitats

This species inhabits rainforest and humid deciduous forest at elevations below about 1000m.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplant is Ulmus (Ulmaceae).

Adult behaviour

Males visit damp ground to imbibe moisture. They habitually settle on rocks and boulders, and if disturbed will usually return to the same spot within a few minutes.

Introduction

The subfamily Apaturinae is of worldwide distribution and comprises of several genera of large and powerfully flying butterflies among which are Apatura, Doxocopa, and Mimathyma. Most have dark brown uppersides, banded with white. The males of most genera reflect an iridescent purple, blue or turquoise sheen. Unlike the aforementioned genera Rohana males are devoid of any iridescence. Instead they are a velvety matt black or dark brown according to species, and marked only with a neat set of white spots at the apex and borders. Females are earthy brown, banded with light brown in paristatis, or with white in most other species.

The genus Rohana comprises of 7 species found variously from India to China, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Rohana parisatis is the commonest and most widely distributed member of the genus, being found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Palawan, Sulawesi and Java.

Habitats

This species inhabits rainforest and humid deciduous forest where it forms small localised colonies. It occurs at elevations between about 200-800m.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplant is Celtis (Ulmaceae).

Adult behaviour

Males visit damp ground to imbibe moisture. Normally several can be seen along a short stretch of forest track. Females also sometimes mud-puddle, but are only observed infrequently. Both sexes tend to be active mainly on damp slightly overcast days, and have usually disappeared from view by midday.

Introduction

The Courtesan is one of 3 members of the genus Euripus, which is placed in the Apaturini – the same tribe to which the Purple Emperor of Europe belongs.

The male, illustrated above, is regarded as a Batesian mimic of the male of Euploea radamanthus, a Danaine which has a similar pattern of white rays in its underside. This Danaine, known as the Magpie Crow, has been demonstrated to be toxic to birds, and is mimicked by several non-toxic butterflies including nyctelius and the Papilionid Chilasa paradoxa.

The female of nyctelius produces 2 distinct forms or morphs – f. isina, on the upperside is marked with white bars on a black ground colour, again just like the male of Euploea radamanthus. Another of the nyctelius female morphs is euploeoides, which as its name suggests is also a Euploea mimic, but in this case it is imitating the female of radamanthus, which has extensive areas of white on its hindwings. Both sexes of nyctelius possess distinctive golden-yellow eyes.

Euripus nyctelius is found in Sikkim, Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java – a range that coincides exactly with that of Euploea radamanthus.

Habitats

This species is found in primary rainforest at elevations between sea level and about 800m.

Lifecycle

I have no information about the egg stage, but based on related genera it is likely to be spherical and laid singly on leaves of the foodplant. The larva is green with a series of pale diagonal stripes along the sides. It is plump, and tapers strongly towards the tail. The head is adorned with a pair of forward curving horns. It feeds nocturnally on Gunpowder tree Trema orientalis (Cannabaceae). The chrysalis is pale green with whitish diagonal stripes along the sides, and bears a remarkable resemblance to a leaf, complete with a ‘midrib’ and ‘veins’. It is suspended by the cremaster from a leaf of the foodplant.

Adult behaviour

Males are elusive in behavior. They tend to spend most of their time on territorial perches high in the treetops, and give chase to other males which enter their domain. Occasionally they descend to imbibe mineralized moisture from pebble-strewn river beaches. Females are seen much less frequently, usually when flying around low vegetation.

Introduction

There are 24 species in the genus Polyura, most of which are found in the Oriental region, although one species, posidonius, is restricted to Tibet and west China. Additionally, there are 6 or 7 species endemic to various islands, e.g., andrewsi from Christmas Island and caphontis from Fiji; and one, pyrrhus, which reaches Queensland in Australia.

The butterflies are characterized by their distinctive wing shape with twin tails on the hindwings, a feature shared with Charaxes, within which Polyura is included by some workers. Polyura species generally have dark brown uppersides, with bands of creamy white which vary in size and shape according to species. These bands are repeated on the underside, usually in a beautiful shade of pale green. In a few species such as delphis, the underside is almost entirely white.

There are 8 species occurring in India – athamas, arja, schreiber, moori, narcaeus, delphis, dolon, and eudamippus.

Polyura athamas is the commonest and most widely distributed species. It is found in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Tibet, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Laos, Cambodia, Taiwan, Brunei, Kalimantan, the Philippines, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, Lombok, and Timor.

Habitats

This species is found in forested areas at elevations between sea level and about 800 meters.

Lifecycle

The egg is spherical, shiny, and yellow. It is laid on the underside of leaves of the foodplants. The larva when fully grown is dark green with 3 prominent white diagonal stripes, and several thinner stripes, all of which converge on the back to form a series of V shapes. It has a large head with a flat face, adorned with a crown of 4 impressive long horns. It feeds nocturnally on the foliage of various trees and shrubs including Albizia, Acacia, Abarema, Adenanthera, Delonix, Peltophorum, and Leucaena (Fabaceae), Grewia (Malvaceae), and Caesalpinia (Caesalpinaceae). The plump rounded pupa is green, streaked with white on the abdomen and wing cases. It is attached by a stout pedunculate cremaster to a twig or stem on or near the foodplant.

Adult behaviour

Females are rarely seen and probably spend most of their lives in the forest canopy, but males are common and often seen imbibing mineralized moisture from damp sand, gravel, or road surfaces. Often 2 or 3 athamas or other Polyura species can be found aggregating at dung or carrion. When feeding, the butterflies are almost oblivious of humans. If deliberately disturbed they fly up rapidly to settle on tree foliage nearby, but return as soon as they sense danger has passed.

Introduction

The Golden-eye, also known as the Courtesan, is one of 3 members of the genus Euripus, which is placed in the Apaturini – the same tribe to which the Purple Emperor of Europe belongs.

The male, illustrated above, is regarded as a Batesian mimic of the male of Euploea radamanthus, a Danaine which has a similar pattern of white rays in its underside. This Danaine, known as the Magpie Crow, has been demonstrated to be toxic to birds, and is mimicked by several non-toxic butterflies including nyctelius and the Papilionid Chilasa paradoxa.

The female of nyctelius produces 2 distinct forms or morphs – f. isina, on the upperside is marked with white bars on a black ground colour, again just like the male of Euploea radamanthus. Another of the nyctelius female morphs is euploeoides, which as its name suggests is also a Euploea mimic, but in this case it is imitating the female of radamanthus, which has extensive areas of white on its hindwings. Both sexes of nyctelius possess distinctive golden-yellow eyes.

Euripus nyctelius is found in Sikkim, Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Sumatra, Borneo and Java – a range that coincides exactly with that of Euploea radamanthus.

Habitats

This species is found in primary rainforest at elevations between sea level and about 500 metres.

Lifecycle

I have no information about the egg stage, but based in related genera it is likely to be spherical and laid singly on leaves of the foodplant. The larva is green with a series of pale diagonal stripes along the sides. It is plump, and tapers strongly towards the tail. The head is adorned with a pair of forward curving horns. It feeds nocturnally on Gunpowder tree Trema orientalis ( Cannabaceae ). The chrysalis is pale green with whitish diagonal stripes along the sides, and bears a remarkable resemblance to a leaf, complete with a “midrib” and “veins”. It is suspended by the cremaster from a leaf of the foodplant.

Adult behaviour

Males are not uncommon but are elusive in behavior. They tend like other Apaturini to spend most of their time on territorial perches high in the tree tops, and give chase to other males which enter their domain. Occasionally they descend to imbibe mineralized moisture from pebble-strewn river beaches. Females are seen much less frequently, usually when flying around low vegetation.

Introduction

Regrettably the popular name ‘Nigger’ was coined for this species in colonial times, and can cause unintended offence, but in the absence of an alternative we continue to use it here.

The genus Orsotriaena comprises of a single species medus. It bears a superficial resemblance to Mycalesis species but on the underside has only 2 ocelli on the forewing, and 3 on the hindwing. The upperside is dark brown and unmarked.

This is a very common and widespread species found in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Timor, New Guinea, and north-eastern Australia.

Habitats

The Nigger is found in disturbed grassy habitats including forest glades, roadsides, and riverbanks at elevations between 0-600m.

Lifecycle

The egg is shiny, spherical, and straw-coloured. It is laid singly on blades and stems of grasses.

The larva when fully grown is a dirty whitish colour, with a faint suffused dark stripe along the back. The body segments are vertically wrinkled, and covered with tiny tubercules. There is a pair of pinkish caudal prongs projecting backwards from the anal segment. The head is pale brown and bestowed with a pair of long chestnut brown horns. The larva feeds nocturnally on Oryza sativa, Saccharum officinarum, and other grasses.

The chrysalis is yellow, stained with brownish, and has a long horn extending forward from the head. It is attached by the cremaster to the underside of a grass blade, or to a nearby stem.

Adult behaviour

The butterflies are mainly active at dawn and dusk, or on overcast days, but can be seen also in sunny conditions. They fly low and cover only very short distances, preferring to spend long periods at rest among leaf litter on the forest floor.

Introduction

In the Oriental and Australian regions, the subfamily Morphinae, ( which includes the brilliant blue Morphos and giant Owl butterflies of the neotropics ) is represented by the tribe Amathusiini – which also includes the genera Faunis, Taenaris, Amathusia, Thauria, Zeuxidia, Amathuxidia, Thaumantis, Discophora and Enispe.

The genus Melanocyma includes just a single instantly recognisable species – faunula. It is a fairly large insect, with a wingspan of about 9cms.

The butterfly occurs in Burma, Thailand, Bhutan and peninsular Malaysia.

Habitats

This species breeds in primary rainforest at altitudes between sea level and about 1000m.

Lifecycle

There does not appear to be any published data regarding the early stages of this species, but the following generalisations apply to the tribe Amathusiini, and are probably applicable : The eggs are laid in clusters on the foodplants, which according to species may be palms, banana, bamboo, sugar cane, ginger or other monocotyledons. The caterpillars are typically cylindrical and covered in fine dense hairs ( setae ). There are tufts of longer hair along the back, and on the thorax. The tail end bears a pair of prominent caudal forks, used to flick droppings away from the feeding site. When young the caterpillars feed gregariously, and if alarmed raise their foreparts to expose a gland from which noxious anti-predator pheromones are disseminated. The chrysalis is smooth, and shaped like a plump banana, and is suspended by the cremaster from woody stems.

Adult behaviour

The butterflies are always encountered singly, and usually seen flying around forest edge habitats or sunny glades. They have a slowish wing beat, but fly rapidly over short distances, nearly always settling on the foliage of trees at heights of between 4 – 8m above ground level. Males show territorial tendencies, and are very reluctant to leave the vicinity of favoured trees.

NB : this species is wrongly captioned as Taenaris horsfieldii in “Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula” by Corbet & Pendlebury ( 1992 ), plate 18.

Introduction

There are 24 species in the genus Polyura, most of which are found in the Oriental region, although one species posidonius is restricted to Tibet and west China; 6 or 7 are endemic to various islands, e.g. andrewsi from Christmas Island and caphontis from Fiji; and one, pyrrhus reaches Queensland in Australia. 7 species occur in Malaysia – athamas, delphis, eudamippus, hebe, jalysus, moori and schreiber.

The butterflies are characterised by their distinctive wing shape with twin tails on the hindwings, a feature strongly reminiscent of the African Charaxes. Most have dark brown uppersides with bands of dazzling creamy white which vary in size and shape from one species to another. These bands are usually repeated on the underside in a beautiful shade of pale green, but in the case of delphis the underside is white, and marked with orange, yellow and grey spots and lunules, hence its alternative name the Jewelled Nawab.

Polyura delphis is one of the scarcer species, and is found in Assam, Sikkim, Myanmar, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Sabah, Brunei, Kalimantan, Palawan and Java.

Habitats

This species is found in primary rainforest at altitudes between about 100-600 metres.

Lifecycle

I have no data regarding delphis, but the lifecycle is likely to be similar to that of other Polyura species. The eggs will be spherical, probably yellow in colour, and laid singly on the underside of leaves of the foodplants. The caterpillar when fully grown will be green, and probably marked with one or more pale dorsal bands. As with other Polyura species it will have a large head with a flat face, adorned with a crown of 4 impressive long horns. The foodplants are likely to be primarily members of the Fabaceae. The chrysalis will be green, probably streaked or marbled with white, and will have a plump, rounded and compressed abdomen. It will be attached by the cremaster to a twig or stem on or near the foodplant.

Adult behaviour

Males visit damp sand along river beaches, but do not normally aggregate with other species. The individual depicted above was one of a pair of delphis males which were attracted to urine-tainted sand on a tributary of the Sungai Tembeling in Taman Negara national park.

Introduction

This large and magnificent butterfly is the only member of the genus Agatasa. It occurs as a rarity in India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and the Philippines.

The legendary explorer and naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace, in his book The Malay Archipelago, wrote of its capture at Malacca :

“I was one afternoon walking along a favourite road through the forest, with my gun, when I saw a butterfly on the ground. It was large, handsome and quite new to me, and I got close to it before it flew away. I then observed that it had been settling on the dung of some carnivorous animal.”

“Thinking that it might return to the same spot, I next day after breakfast took my net, and as I approached the place was delighted to see the same butterfly sitting on the same piece of dung, and succeeded in capturing it. It was an entirely new species of great beauty. I never saw another specimen of it, and it was only after 12 years had elapsed that a second individual reached this country ( England ) from the north-western part of Borneo.”

d’Abrera, in Butterflies of the Oriental Region wrote :

“It is truly a spectacular sight, but it’s feeding habits would be regarded by some as being gravely socially aberrant, to say the least ! A famous zoo-geographer friend tells that while on the Mt Mulu expedition in Borneo, he was not even permitted to finish his toilet in the jungle with dignity. For while he was thus crouched ( having the previous day dined on spiced pork ), a strongly flapping Agatasa calydonia arrived to take boisterous possession of the freshly malodorous deposit.”

Habitats

The butterfly is said by Corbet & Pendlebury to occur in open forest at low to moderate elevations. I have only ever seen 2 specimens, one in the disturbed primary rainforest at Poring hot springs in Sabah, Borneo; and the other in similar habitat at Ulu Gerok in the western slopes of the hills in peninsular Malaysia. On both occasions the butterflies were males, feeding at carrion, close to waterfalls in dark shady forest.

Lifecycle

The lifecycle is unknown.

Adult behaviour

The butterfly is very scarce and only ever seen singly. Males are normally only seen when feeding at carrion, dung or rotting fruit. Once settled the butterfly is easy to approach and oblivious to the presence of photographers!

Introduction

There are 5 members of this attractive genus variously found in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, West Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

Erites are a group of scarce, localised and elusive butterflies, of which elegans is the rarest species in Malaysia. It also occurs in Sumatra and Borneo where it is equally scarce.

Habitats

This species is found in primary rainforest at elevations below about 300 metres. It seems to occur close to streams or tributaries, and is most often encountered in the rainy season.

Lifecycle

The lifecycle of all Erites species is unknown but it is possible to make educated guesses based on related genera : The eggs for example will almost certainly be spherical with a flattened base, and are likely to be laid singly on leaves of the foodplant. The larva will be green or brown, and almost certainly will be marked with thin dark lines running the length of the back and sides. It’s head will be adorned with a pair of short curved horns, and there will be a pair of caudal prongs on the anal segment. Like all Satyrines it will be a crepuscular or nocturnal feeder, and the larval foodplant will be some kind of monocotyledon. Erites are deep forest butterflies so palms or bamboos are more likely as foodplants than grasses.

Adult behaviour

The butterflies are rare and very localised, but normally if one is found there will be several others nearby. This tends to indicate that the larval foodplant is a scarce and localised plant, as the insect would otherwise be more evenly distributed in the forest.

Both sexes are in the words of Corbet & Pendlebury ” feeble in flight and furtive in habit”. They are only active for short periods, and seemingly favour overcast humid conditions. My experience is that they congregate around a particular specimen of ( unidentified ) palm, where individual males will sit for for several minutes at a time on a chosen leaf, and that if disturbed they return to the same leaf as soon as they sense it is safe to do so. Half an hour later however they will be nowhere to be seen, and no amount of trampling around in the undergrowth will arouse them, indicating that they probably migrate to and from these places during the course of the day.