Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Common Palm Fly
Elymnias
hypermnestra
LINNAEUS, 1763
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
SATYRINAE
Tribe - ELYMNIINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Elymnias hypermnestra,
Gopeng,
West Malaysia |
Introduction
The genus Elymnias comprises of 45
species - 37 in the Oriental region,
1 in Australia, 4 in Papua New Guinea
and 3 in Africa ( although the African species are placed in
another genus Elymniopsis by some
workers ). In Malaysia there are 12 species, of which
hypermnestra is the most common and
widespread.
On the
upperside the male is bluish black, with a series of large
purplish or bluish spots around the apex and wing margins. It is
considered to be a Batesian mimic of the Striped Blue Crow
Euploea mulciber - a Danaine which
has been demonstrated to be unpalateable to birds.
The female is
slightly larger, and in the Malaysian subspecies
agina is similar to the male.
Females of the subspecies tinctoria
from Thailand however have a large orange patch on each wing,
and are probably mimics of another unpalateable Danaine, the
Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus. The
female of the Indian / Sri Lankan race
undularis is similar to tinctoria
but has dark veins, and is regarded as a mimic of yet another
toxic species Danaus genutia.
On the
underside both sexes of all of the subspecies are brown, finely
marbled with reddish, and with a smudge of whitish scales near
the apex of the forewing. On the hindwing there is usually a
white spot just beyond the discal cell, but this varies in size
from one individual to another, and in some examples is entirely
absent.
Elymnias hypermnestra occurs in
India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, South Vietnam, Thailand, West
Malaysia, Palawan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Sumatra, Borneo,
Java and Bali.
Habitats
This species occurs in primary and secondary forest, oil palm (
Elaeis guineensis ) plantations,
and parks, at elevations between sea level and about 800 metres.
Lifecycle
The egg is pale green, spherical and covered in small pits or
indentations. It is laid singly on the leaves of palms
( Arecaceae )
including
Arenga
engleri,
Cocos nucifera,
Livistona chinensis,
Elaeis guineensis, Licuala
chinensis, Calamus rotang,
Calamus pseudo-tenuis, Calamus
thwaitesii, Phoenix lourerii
and Phoenix
humilis.
In West Malaysia and Singapore the most commonly used foodplant
is the Golden Cane Palm
Dypsis lutescens.
The caterpillar
when fully grown is bright green, with a pair of prominent
yellow lines along the back, and finer lines on the sides. It's
head is pinkish-brown and ornamented with a pair of short curved
horns, and the tail bears a pair of similarly coloured long
caudal prongs. It is crepuscular in behaviour - feeding at dawn
and dusk.
The chrysalis
is extremely pretty, being emerald green and marked with
yellow-edged bright red streaks and dashes along the back,
thorax and the dorsal edge of the wing cases. It is suspended by
the cremaster from a silk pad, beneath a leaf or stem of the
foodplant.
Adult behaviour
In India and Sri Lanka I have often seen this species flying on
hot sunny afternoons, but in Malaya and Borneo it tends to only
be active very early in the day, or in overcast conditions.
Unlike most
Satyrines ( which usually to fly close to the ground ), the
butterflies
tend to fly around the top of bushes or the lower branches of
trees. They have a delicate slow flight - a mixture of
fluttering and gliding, and when they land they invariably
settle on a leaf, high up in a bush, and usually beyond camera
reach. At all times they are nervous and very alert, and
at the slightest disturbance will immediately take flight, only
to resettle on another high leaf, usually somewhere even less
accessible to the photographer !
Elymnias hypermnestra,
Orissa, India ( image
© Haraprasan Nayak )
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