Butterflies of
Australia
Imperial Hairstreak
Jalmenus
evagoras
DONOVAN, 1805
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
THECLINAE
Tribe -
Jalmenus
evagoras
Canberra, Australia
© David Fischer
Introduction
To be completed.
Habitats
To be completed.
Lifecycle
The larvae are
subject to predation by wasps Polistes
variabilis, jumper ants Myrmecia
nigrocincta and various small spiders.
In common with
many other Lycaenids Jalmenus evagoras
larvae live in association with ants. The pupae, which are formed
on the larval foodplants, are also ant-attended. Ants are
beneficial to the pupae because they drive away predatory insects
and parasitoid wasps that might otherwise attack them. Experiments
with evagoras have shown that in
cases where ants have been denied access to the butterfly pupae
the latter have suffered up to 95% parasitism by the Chalcid wasp
Brachymeria reginia. Conversely,
pupae attended by the ants experienced zero parasitism.
Adult behaviour
Males aggregate in clusters of up to 20 individuals
around the pupae of females.
Jalmenus
evagoras
Canberra, Australia
© David Fischer
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