Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Malay Baron
Euthalia monina
FABRICIUS, 1787
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
LIMENITIDINAE
Tribe - ADOLIADINI
introduction
|
habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
|
 |
|
Euthalia monina monina,
male, Taman Negara, West Malaysia |
Introduction
The genus Euthalia comprises of
about 40-50 species, of which up to 18 occur in China, in the south-east
Holarctic region, and the remainder in the Oriental region. The
exact number of species has yet to be determined as the genus is
under review, and the status of many is in doubt - some
taxonomists regarding them as full species while others consider
them to be merely subspecies.
Many of the
16-20 species occurring in Malaysia are quite difficult to tell
apart, and identification is compounded by the fact that the
males and females of each species are usually very different in
colour and pattern, and because several of the species produce a
number of different colour forms or morphs.
The male of
Euthalia monina is illustrated
above. The female lacks the green iridescence, being a dull
earthy brown colour, beautifully patterned with numerous pale
greyish markings on the outer part of the wings. It closely
resembles the female of Tanaecia iapis.
Euthalia monina is the commonest
member of the genus in Malaysia, and also occurs in Sikkim,
Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra, Palawan, Kalimantan, Lombok and
Java.
Habitats
This species is found in small clearings and glades, on river
beaches, and along the wider trails in primary and disturbed
rainforest habitats, at elevations between sea level and about
1000 metres.
Lifecycle
There is very
little published information about the lifecycle of
monina, so the following is
educated guesswork based on the lifecycle of other
Euthalia species :
The eggs of
Euthalia species are normally laid
singly on the underside of leaves of the foodplants. They are
very strange in appearance, being dome-shaped and covered in a
coarse network of hexagonal depressions, the corners of which
each bear a hair-like protuberance, which in some species is
tipped with what appears to be a tiny drop of dew, but is in
fact a minute glossy club.
Immediately
after hatching, the caterpillar devours its empty eggshell.
Thereafter, depending on the Euthalia
species, it feeds on the leaves of
Dendropthoe, Loranthus,
Elytranthe ( Loranthaceae ),
Mangifera,
Anacardium ( Anacardiaceae ),
Litchi ( Sapindaceae ), and various other trees and woody
parasitic plants. In Malaya and Singapore the larvae have also
been found on Clidemia hirta, a
highly invasive noxious weed imported from South America in the
19th century by Koster, which has since earned itself the name
of Koster's Curse.
The
caterpillars are extraordinary, possessing a series of very long
lateral spikes, each adorned with a double row of horizontal
spikelets. The body and spikes are usually yellowish in the
early instars, but older larvae are normally green, and marked
along the back in some species with a broad creamy stripe or a
series of dark pink or yellow blotches.
Throughout its
life the larva adopts a characteristic resting position on the
midrib of the upperside of leaves, and contrary to what might be
expected from the above description, it is
remarkably
difficult to find, because the spikes break up the outline,
merging with the veins of the leaf, and effectively make the
caterpillar "disappear" when viewed from a distance.
The chrysalis,
which is suspended by the cremaster from a leaf, is
diamond-shaped in silhouette, and in cross section. It is pale
green, with a prominent pale cream transverse dorsal ridge.
Adult behaviour
Males are often
seen imbibing mineralised moisture from patches of damp ground,
at which times they usually hold their wings outspread. It often
takes them several minutes to settle and feed however, during
which time they hop and walk about from one spot to another,
while slowly fanning their wings.
Females rarely
settle on the ground, but are commonly seen basking on the lower
foliage of trees.
|
