Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Branded Imperial
Eooxylides tharis
GEYER, 1837
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
THECLINAE
Tribe - EUMAEINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Eooxylides
tharis distanti, female, Tapah, West Malaysia |
Introduction
The Theclinae ( Hairstreaks ) are found worldwide, with about 270 representatives in Sundaland, the
region that encompasses the Malay peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Palawan.
There are several genera which contain species with long tails, orange
undersides, and black and white markings in the distal area, including Thamala, Eooxylides, Drupadia, Cheritra, Neocheritra, Thrix
and Zeltus.
Eooxylides tharis is certainly one of the
most beautiful species from the genera listed above. It is recognised by it's
particularly brilliant orange underside colouration, very distinctive markings,
and extraordinarily
long and twisted tails. The upperside wings are blackish brown, with
broken white markings in the distal area of the hindwings.
There are arguably 11 species
of Eooxylides, although many workers regard the
majority of these as being subspecies of tharis,
occurring variously in Thailand, West Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra,
Palawan, Java and some of the smaller islands of Indo-China.
Most authorities however agree that
etias from Borneo, and meduana from the
Philippines are distinct species.
Habitats
This species is found in wet rainforest areas at elevations between sea level
and about 1000m.
Lifecycle
In August 2004 at Tapah
Hills in Malaysia, I observed a female ovipositing on a tiny sapling
in full sunlight at the side of a minor road. The eggs were white, and laid
in loose clusters of about a dozen or so, wrapped around the tip of a dry woody
sprig.
The only foodplant listed that
I can find is Smilax bracteata, a common forest
vine.
The larva is green, suffused on the thorax and at the tail
end with red. It is smooth-skinned, ovoid, flattened, and has what could be
described as a lip or rib around its lower half, enabling it to squat
limpet-like to it's substrate, with it's legs completely hidden. This strongly
suggests that it needs to protect its soft undersurface from the ants which
attend it. ( Seufert & Fiedler found that about 50% of
tharis larvae were attended by ants ).
The green pupa has the wing
cases suffused with white at their base, and with reddish around the wing edges.
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Eooxylides
tharis distanti, male feeding at bird dropping, Tapah, West Malaysia |
Adult behaviour
The butterfly tends to skip
purposefully from perch to perch, searching for food sources which
include bird droppings and aphid secretions. Once settled they are
usually reluctant to move, and oblivious to human disturbance,
particularly if they are feeding.
Males are commonly found
in small groups of about 3 or 4
on the stems of bushes in shady areas of disturbed forest, having
been attracted by the sweet "honey-dew" secretions produced by
aphids and membracids. At such sites there are invariably at least
a dozen ants sharing their meal, but the ants do not molest the
butterflies, which are possibly protected by their chemical
properties.
When feeding they habitually
walk around the stems, each butterfly slowly rotating on its own
axis as it avidly probes the sugary secretions with its proboscis.
On more than one occasion I've found males head-locked together,
apparently the result of an eagerness to feed, rather than
aggression.
Females are usually encountered
singly, when searching for oviposition sites.
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