Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Broad-bordered
Yamfly
Loxura cassiopeia
DISTANT, 1884
Family -
LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
LYCAENINAE
Tribe - LOXURINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Loxura cassiopeia cassiopeia,
Ulu Gerok, West Malaysia |
Introduction
The genus Loxura comprises of 2 very similar
species atymnus and
cassiopeia, both restricted to the Oriental region.
On the upperside of the wings
both species are bright non-metallic orange, with the apical area dark brown or
black. In cassiopeia the black also extends along
the costa as a broad band. Both species could be confused with
Yasoda pita, but on the upperside the latter has
dark brown borders on both wings, and a narrow brown diagonal streak across the
hindwings.
Loxura
cassiopeia is found in Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Sarawak,
Brunei, Sabah and the Philippines.
Habitats
This species is found in primary and secondary forest at altitudes between about
100-800 metres.
Lifecycle
I have no data regarding the early stages of cassiopeia,
but these are likely to be extremely similar to those of
atymnus which are given below :
The egg is dome-shaped with numerous tiny shallow depressions, and
purplish-white in colour. It is laid singly at the base of young shoots of the
foodplants which include Dioscorea ( Dioscoreaceae
), Smilax ( Smilacaceae ) and
Solanum ( Solanaceae ).
The caterpillar is slug-shaped,
shiny olive green, with whitish striations along the length of the back. There
is a reddish suffusion along the lower middle abdomen and along the middle of
the back. It feeds openly on the fleshy shoots but is extremely well
camouflaged.
Like almost all Lycaenidae
larvae it possesses a Newcomer's gland on the back, near the tail, which
secretes a sugary substance which is "milked" by ants. The ants, by their
presence offer in return a degree of protection against predators and
parasitoids.
The chrysalis is attached
vertically to a stem of the foodplant and bears a remarkable resemblance to a
partly opened leaf bud. The abdomen is bright leaf-green, with a broad band of
marbled brown along the back, either side of the thorax, and around the edges of
the wing cases.
Adult behaviour
The butterfly is scarce in Malaysia and infrequently observed. I
have only seen it at Ulu Gerok, where I watched a male imbibing
moisture from the surface of a rock at the edge of a small
fast-running stream.
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