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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of Malaysia and Borneo
 
Purple Sapphire
Heliophorus epicles GODART, 1824
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily - LYCAENINAE
Tribe - LYCAENINI
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Heliophorus epicles tweediei, Mount Brinchang, West Malaysia
 
Introduction
 
The name Purple Sapphire might seem inappropriate this beautiful butterfly, but it refers to the colour of the upper surface of the wings, not the bright yellow and red underside !
The upperside is dark brown, with a deep purple sheen, and orange markings.
 
Although this stunning little butterfly has a rather hairstreak-like appearance, it is in fact a member of the tribe Lycaenini - commonly known as Coppers.
 
There are 10 species in the genus Heliophorus, of which androcles, which occurs from Sikkim to western China, is the most dramatic. It has an underside similar to epicles, but on the upperside of the male, the basal area of the forewings is brilliant metallic blue in the wet season form, and a shimmering metallic green in the dry season form.
 
The illustrated species epicles occurs in India, Burma, Thailand, West Malaysia, Bhutan, Java, Sumatra, southern China and Taiwan, but is absent from Borneo.
 
Habitats
 
This species frequents disturbed forest edge habitats at elevations between about 500-1500m above sea level.
 
Lifecycle
 
Unknown. It is likely however that the eggs are laid singly on the upperside of leaves, close to the stem, as in the case of other Lycaenini. The larvae are likely to be plump, woodlouse-shaped, and rest on the underside of leaves. The foodplants are unknown, but are likely to be herbaceous plants in the families Polygonaceae or Plumbaginaceae.
 
Adult behaviour

 

Both sexes can be found, with luck, around bushes and tall herbage in full sunlight at the forest edge. They are hairstreak-like in behaviour, spending long periods perched on bushes, but males can sometimes be found basking on herbage if conditions are cloudy.

 

Males also settle on dry soil, sometimes in groups of up to half a dozen, where they imbibe what little moisture is present, to extract dissolved minerals. Strangely they do not seem to visit damp earth or soil, so it would appear that they seek specific minerals present only in particular well drained sandy soils.

 
                                                        
In common with most other butterflies in Malaysia, Borneo and Palawan, the habitats of this species are severely endangered. Rainforest only remains on the steepest mountain-sides, and at a small number of nature reserves. Many of the reserves are now threatened with reclassification and subsequent exploitation at the hands of major international companies.
 
Tragically, the huge areas of tropical rainforest which once covered the lowlands of West Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak have been almost entirely cleared, with only a few "islands" of original forest remaining, surrounded by vast oil palm plantations.
 
The forests of Kalimantan ( the Indonesian sector of Borneo ) have suffered a similar fate, and what little remains is now under severe threat,
as the protected status of nature reserves is being revoked to make way for concession areas that will be subjected to open cast coal mines, logging, and clearance for immense oil palm plantations to satisfy the demand for bio-diesel fuel.
 
The extent of the devastation is immense, and the consequences catastrophic, not only for butterflies, but also for orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, hornbills, and myriads of other mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects - our natural heritage is being annihilated.
 
You can help prevent further devastation - please lobby your governments, and contact the rainforest conservation organisations who organise on-line petitions and use scientific evidence to apply pressure to the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia to halt the devastation.
 
 
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
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