Caterpillars of the
World - Cambodia
Moth butterfly
Liphyra brassolis
WESTWOOD, 1864
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
LIPHYRINAE / MILETINAE
Tribe - LIPHYRINI
Liphyra brassolis larva, Siem
Reap, Cambodia
© Dani Jump
Introduction
The subfamily
Liphyrinae comprises of 19 small stout-bodied African species in
the genus Aslauga, 3 African species
in Euliphyra, and 3 Indo-Australian species in
Liphyra. These genera are treated by
several workers as members of another subfamily, Miletinae. In the
latter arrangement the Liphyrinae are relegated to the rank of a
tribe - Liphyrini.
The most well known of
the 3 Liphyra species is the "moth butterfly" brassolis, which is distributed from
India to the Philippines, and south via Borneo and peninsular
Malaysia to Sulawesi, Java and Australia. The other 2 species -
grandis and
castnia, are both endemic to New Guinea.
The moth butterfly is
one of the largest members of the Lycaenidae in the world, with a
wingspan of about 70-76mm. The butterflies are heavily built, and
have a furry moth-like appearance, hence the common name.
Habitats
This species inhabits
rainforest, including degraded and semi-cleared areas, at
altitudes between sea level and about 400 metres.
Lifecycle
The
extraordinary carnivorous caterpillar of
Liphyra brassolis lives inside the nests of weaver ants
Oecophylla smaragdina, attacking and
devouring hundreds of ant grubs.
The butterfly
lays it's eggs singly on the underside of
tree branches. It often returns several times to the same spot, so
that several eggs may eventually be laid in close proximity. The
chosen tree can be one of several species, but only "ant trees",
are used, i.e. a specimens which have been colonised by weaver
ants. Each tree holds numerous ant nests, each constructed by the
ants from bunches of leaves which they have stitched together with
silk. Each nest may contain between 50-200 worker ants, a queen
ant, and hundreds of developing ant grubs.
The
eggs hatch after about 3 weeks. The early part of the larval stage
is not recorded, so it is not known what the caterpillars feed on
during the 1st and 2nd instars, or how they find their way into
the ant nests. One possibility is that they feed at first on algae
growing on the tree trunks ( as is the case with Lipteninae in
Africa ), and are later captured by ants and taken into the nests.
Half grown
caterpillars
are commonly found within ant nests. A single nest can sometimes
house as many as 5 or 6 Liphyra
caterpillars. Any insect
unfortunate enough to find it's way into an ant nest would
normally be killed
and eaten, but the tortoise-like Liphyra
caterpillar has a built-in survival kit, in the form of a very
tough chitinous carapace that is impervious to ant bites. The ants
attempt to flip the caterpillar over to reach the soft under
belly, but the caterpillar uses it's powerful sucker-like feet to
pull the carapace down and seal it against the substrate,
defeating all attempts by the ants to gain entry.
Whenever the
caterpillar is hungry, it lifts the carapace slightly, and pops
it's head out to grab an ant grub with its mandibles. In an
instant the grub is pulled under the carapace. The caterpillar
then pierces the skin of the grub, and sucks out the juices. The
empty skin of the grub is then ejected, and the caterpillar roams
a short distance until it locates and kills it's next victim. Up
to a dozen ant grubs can be killed and eaten per hour by a single
caterpillar. A few Liphyra caterpillars can easily
annihilate an entire brood of ant grubs in a couple of weeks.
The pupa is
formed beneath the protective carapace, where it is safe from
attack.
In Burma,
Thailand and Cambodia the caterpillars and pupae are harvested by
villagers for human consumption. They are also used in medicines,
and in bird feed and fish bait.
Adult
When the butterfly emerges
from it's pupa, it cracks open the protective carapace, and finds
itself inside the ant nest, surrounded by scores of very
aggressive ants which try very hard to kill it. They are unable to
do so however because the body and wings of the butterfly are
covered with loose sticky scales which become detached and clog
the jaws of the ants. This enables the butterfly to crawl out of the ant nest and find a
safe spot where it can expand and dry it's wings before taking
it's first flight.
Contrary to
popular myth, the moth butterfly is not crepuscular, but flies
during daylight like other Lycaenidae. It is unable to feed, as
it's proboscis is wholly atrophied, so it depends for sustenance
entirely on fats and proteins stored within its body, acquired
during the caterpillar stage.
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