Introduction

The genus Cepora is closely allied to Appias and comprises of 20 species. The commonest and most widespread species is nerissa which is distributed from India to Bali. The genus is centred on south-east Asia, with the majority of species being found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Cepora nerissa occurs in Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, south China, peninsular Malaysia, Sulawesi and Java. It appears to be absent from Borneo, where it is replaced by Cepora pactolicus.

Habitats

Cepora nerissa is a lowland species which inhabits thorn scrub, savannah / woodland mosaics, open areas within dry woodlands, and beach hinterlands.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplant is Capparis ( Capparidaceae ).

Adult behaviour

Males imbibe mineralised moisture from wet sand, and also visit dung. When not feeding they spend most off their time perching at the top of bushes, usually keeping their wings closed.

Females are quite secretive, but can sometimes be found nectaring at Tridax.

Introduction

The genus Cepora is closely allied to Appias and comprises of 20 species. The commonest and most widespread species is nerissa which is distributed from India to Bali. The genus is centred on south-east Asia, with the majority of species being found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

The gorgeous chrome yellow on the underside of nadina is present in both sexes but only in the wet season form of the species. The dry season form is a plainer but still very beautiful creature, with a more greenish-yellow hue.

Cepora nadina occurs in Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, south China, West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and the Andaman islands.

Habitats

This species is found in open areas in primary and secondary forest at altitudes between sea level and about 600m.

Lifecycle

The caterpillar feeds on Capparis, and when fully grown is green and covered with small tubercles each of which bears a short white hair.

Adult behaviour

Males are strongly attracted to urine and seepages where they join aggregations of Appias, Eurema and Graphium. If disturbed they invariably settle on nearby foliage but are nervous, so while the Eurema and Graphium tend to return to feed quite quickly, nadina holds back until it senses that any threat of danger has long passed.

Introduction

There are 10 species in the genus Ixias, all of which are Oriental in distribution.

Males have orange wing tips and broad dark brown margins, on either a yellow or white ground colour, depending on the species. Females are similar but have more extensive dark markings, and in some species e.g. flavipennis and paluensis they lack the orange patches. The underside of the wings in both sexes of all species is yellow, with a band of dark spots. The latter are much more pronounced in the wet season forms.

Several Ixias species are endemic to islands in south-east Asia e.g. kuehni on Wetar, flavipennis on Sumatra, piepersii and paluensis on Sulawesi, and vollenhovii on Timor. The commonest and most widespread member of the genus is pyrene which is distributed from Pakistan to Taiwan, and south through the Malaysian peninsula to Sumatra, Borneo and the Philippines.

Ixias marianne is confined to India and Sri Lanka.

Habitats

This species inhabits Acacia scrub, savannah / woodland mosaics, open areas within dry forest, and beach hinterlands. It is a lowland species found between sea level and about 500m.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplant is Capparis ( Capparidaceae ).

Adult behaviour

Both sexes tend to fly quite close to the ground, fluttering around bushes. Early in the morning they often bask on low foliage, with the wings half open. If disturbed by humans or birds they react by flying into long grasses or tangled undergrowth, where they hide low down, keeping their wings tightly closed. Further disturbance causes them to retreat deeper into the undergrowth, where they are almost impossible to flush out.

Introduction

The genus Colotis comprises of 40 species, 39 of which are primarily or entirely Afrotropical in distribution. The majority have pure white uppersides, with prominent orange, yellow or crimson tips to the forewings. A few however, including amata, phisadia and vesta have uppersides that are more akin to the Colias Clouded Yellows in appearance, although they are only distantly unrelated, being members of a different subfamily.

Colotis amata is distributed across Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, and south to Namibia, South Africa and Madagascar. It is also found in Arabia, and is widespread on the Indian subcontinent, including on Sri Lanka.

Habitats

This species inhabits hot arid areas including coastal grassland, Acacia scrub, savannah, farmland, and large clearings in dry forests. It occurs at altitudes between sea level and about 1200m.

Lifecycle

The larvae are gregarious, feeding on Salvadora ( Salvadoraceae ).

Adult behaviour

The butterflies commonly bask on the foliage of bushes, with their wings either half-open or almost fully outspread. Both sexes are fond of nectaring at Tridax and at mints ( Lamiaceae ).

Introduction

There are 21 Troides species although Trogonoptera ( 2 species ) and Ornithoptera ( 13 species ) are also included in Troides by some workers. The true Troides Birdwings are all similar to helena, with black elongated forewings and extensive areas of metallic golden yellow on the hindwings. The yellow areas are iridescent, and at extreme angles can reflect green violet, orange or purple hues.

Troides helena is the commonest and most widespread member of the genus, being found in India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, south China, Taiwan, West Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Java and Bali.

Habitats

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

Lifecycle

All Troides species use Aristolochiaceae as their larval foodplants. T. helena has been recorded on Aristolochia indica, A. tagala, and Bragantia wallichi.

The eggs are large, spherical, pink in colour, but coated in an orange glutinous substance. They are laid singly on the upper surface of leaves of the foodplants, on the midrib, near the tip.

The caterpillar, which is toxic to birds, when fully grown is dull brown, with a broad white diagonal bar along the side of the middle section. It has several rows of long recurved fleshy protuberances along the back and sides.

The chrysalis resembles a dead leaf. It is pale olive-brown colour, marked with fine striations, and has a dull yellowish saddle mark on the back. The abdomen is curved into an S shape, and has a double row of dorsal thorns. It is attached vertically to a stem, or sometimes suspended beneath a leaf, attached by the cremaster and a strong silken girdle.

Adult behaviour

In the morning the females sit on foliage high in the trees, while males glide in broad circles above them trying to locate potential mates. Upon discovering a female the male performs an elaborate quivering courtship dance several metres above her, before alighting beside her to copulate.

Later in the day both sexes can be seen fluttering around flowering trees and bushes including Lantana. When nectaring they usually keep the wings constantly fluttering.

Introduction

The subfamily Papilioninae consists of about 550 species worldwide. These are divided into 4 tribes: Leptocircini, Papilionini, Teinopalpini and Troidini. The Troidini includes the Parides Cattlehearts of South America, the Ornithoptera Paradise Birdwings of Papua New Guinea, and the Trogonoptera and Troides Birdwings of tropical Asia, and Atrophaneura.

There are about 50 species in the genus Atrophaneura, most of which are confined to the Oriental region, although some extend their range to New Guinea which lies in the Australian region. Some workers split Atrophaneura into a number of smaller genera e.g. Pachliopta, Losaria, Balignina and Byasa. Consequently this species is listed as Byasa polyeuctes in some works.

The various members of the genus Atrophaneura are known as Windmills, Batwings, Club-tails and Roses. They all have elongated black forewings. In most species the hindwings have spatulate tails and are marked with red submarginal spots and/or white patches. Most also have red markings on the head, thorax and abdomen.

Atrophaneura are unpalateable to birds, and are mimicked in appearance by various edible species. Papilio polytes e.g. produces several different female forms, including romulus f. theseus which is a superb mimic of Atrophaneura aristolochiae. Insectivorous birds are unable to distinguish between mimic and model, and having had the unpleasant experience of tasting aristolochiae will reject the almost identical but perfectly edible polytes. For human observers distinguishing between the two species is easy though because polytes has an all-black head and body.

Atrophaneura aristolochiae is found across tropical Asia from India and Sri Lanka to China, Taiwan and the Philippines. It’s range continues south through the Malay peninsula to Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java and Bali.

Habitats

This very common species can be found in a wide variety of habitats including rainforests, beach hinterlands, parks and gardens. In Sri Lanka it even occurs in arid savannah / thorn scrub habitats due to the proximity of these to the beach hinterlands where it’s larval foodplants flourish.

Lifecycle

The larval foodplants are Aristolochia and Thottea ( Aristolochiaceae ).

Adult behaviour

Both sexes roam widely, fluttering and gliding gracefully but quite rapidly, a metre or so above the ground. The nectar avidly at wild and cultivated flowers, constantly fluttering their wings to maintain their position as they hover in front of them.

Introduction

There are about 60 species of Papilio in the Oriental region, and 210 species worldwide.

In common with other members of the genus, clytia is palatable to insectivorous birds and in order to protect itself from predation it has evolved its appearance to become superficially very similar to an unpalatable species. Papilio clytia produces several morphs, including ‘janus’ which mimics the Common Crow Euploea core; form ‘papone’ which mimics Euploea doubledayi; and ‘dissimilis’ which is a mimic of the Tiger butterflies Parantica and Tirumala. At some sites including Ultapani in Assam papone and dissimilis often fly side by side.

Papilio clytia occurs in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, Sulawesi, and Timor.

Habitats

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

Lifecycle

The larval foodplants include Cinnamomum, Litsea and Alseodaphne ( Lauraceae ).

Adult behaviour

Males of all morphs commonly imbibe mineralised moisture from wet ground. They are sometimes encountered singly, but more often several will be present in mixed aggregations of Papilionidae, Pieridae, and Danainae.

Introduction

There are about 60 species of Papilio in the Oriental region, and 210 species worldwide.

Papilio demoleus is found across most of the Oriental region from India and Sri Lanka to Vietnam and the Philippines. Its range continues south through peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Timor, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea and Australia. The species has also been introduced to Central America and the Caribbean, where it is a pest of Citrus.

The butterfly bears a remarkable resemblance to the African Citrus Swallowtail P. demodocus, but the two species are not as closely related as their appearance would seem to indicate.

Habitats

This species can be found in forests but is normally associated with more open habitats ranging from semi-desert to Acacia scrub, beach hinterlands, savannah / woodland mosaics, parks and gardens. It can be found at altitudes between sea level and about 2000m.

Lifecycle

The main larval foodplant used in the Oriental region is cultivated Lime Citrus aurantifolia, on which can be a serious pest. Other Citrus species are also used, as are Atalantia, Glycosmis, Chloroxylon, Ruta, Murraya, Zizyphus, Acronichia and Microcitrus (Rutaceae). In the Australian region Psoralea and Cullen (Fabaceae) are used instead.

When young the larva is olive-brown with a suffused white saddle-mark, and strongly resembles a bird dropping. The mature caterpillar is green with a pair of narrow cream and grey mottled bands between the thoracic segments, and a pair of short knobbly tail horns.

The larvae are parasitized by Apanteles and Bracon wasps, and by Ericia Tachnid flies. The pupae are parasitized by Brachymeria and Pteromalus wasps.

Adult behaviour

In the early morning the butterflies fly low over the ground, and settle to bask for long periods on low vegetation, with their wings outspread. Later in the day as temperatures rise they become very active. Males spend their time searching for females, or mud-puddling at damp patches of ground. Females can often be seen nectaring at flowers, and research has shown that they are genetically programmed to seek blue or purple flowers in preference to other colored blooms.

Introduction

This beautiful species was for many years placed in a genus of its own – Pathysa, but taxonomists have since decided that it should be transferred back to its original genus Graphium.

The genus Graphium is widespread in the Old World, with 35 species in the Afrotropical region, 14 in the Oriental region, 6 in the Holarctic (south and west China), and 20 in the Australian region.

Almost all of the Oriental and Australasian species are characterized by the presence of a pattern of translucent green, turquoise, or yellowish ‘windows’ in their wings. Arguably the most beautiful and unusual of all the Graphium species is weiskei from Papua, which is patterned with vivid pink and green on a dark brown ground color. There are several species, however, such as antiphates and aristeus which have pure white uppersides, marked with prominent vertical black stripes. A few including antiphates, aristeus, and the African policenes have very long sword-like tails. Some of the Oriental species e.g. codrus, cloanthus, and certain races of agamemnon have short tails, but in others including sarpedon, doson, and eurypylus the tails are greatly reduced or absent.

Graphium antiphates is a widespread and common species, found from India to south China; and south through peninsular Malaysia to Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali.

Habitats

This species is found in primary rainforest at elevations between sea level and about 600m.

Lifecycle

The caterpillar reportedly feeds on Annona, Desmos, and Uvaria, all members of the Annonaceae.

Adult behaviour

Males often migrate along river courses, where they aggregate with other Graphium species at patches of damp ground to filter-feed, using their proboscises to suck up water from which they extract sodium and other minerals. They constantly pump water through their bodies, expelling the surplus from the anus, using it to dissolve further minerals from the ground, which they re-imbibe. They quiver their wings constantly while feeding, and habitually face into the breeze. Late in the afternoon when temperatures drop males can sometimes be seen basking with wings outspread on tree foliage or bushes.

Introduction

The genus Graphium is widespread in the Old World, with 35 species in the Afrotropical region, 14 in the Oriental region, 6 in the Holarctic (south & west China), and 20 in the Australian region.

Almost all of the Oriental and Australasian species are characterized by the presence of a pattern of translucent green, turquoise, or yellowish ‘windows’ in their wings. Arguably the most beautiful and unusual of all the Graphium species is weiskei from Papua, which is patterned with vivid pink and green on a dark brown ground color. There are several species, however, such as antiphates and aristeus which have pure white uppersides, marked with prominent vertical black stripes. A few, including antiphates, aristeus, and the African policenes, have very long sword-like tails. Some of the Oriental species, e.g., codrus, cloanthus, and certain races of agamemnon, have short tails, but in others including sarpedon, doson, and eurypylus the tails are greatly reduced or absent.

Graphium doson is one of the most widespread and common of the Oriental species, found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Java.

Habitats

This species occurs in forested habitats at altitudes between sea level and about 1000m.

Lifecycle

The larvae feed on the foliage of a wide variety of trees and bushes including Desmos, Mitrephora, Rauwenhoffia, Uvaria, Annona, Polyalthia (Annonaceae), Cinnamomum (Lauraceae), Diploglottis (Sapindaceae), Michelia, and Magnolia (Magnoliaceae).

Adult behaviour

As with other Graphium species, doson males adopt the ‘filter-feeding’ technique – using their long proboscises to continually suck up water from which they extract sodium and other minerals. They constantly pump the water through their bodies, expelling the surplus from the anus, and using it to dissolve further minerals from the ground, which they re-imbibe. When feeding on the ground, the wings are normally held erect, but kept constantly quivering. It is common to find that almost all the butterflies in an aggregation face in the same direction – into the wind.