Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Red Eye Skipper
Matapa aria
MOORE, 1866
Family - HESPERIIDAE
subfamily -
HESPERIINAE
Tribe -
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Matapa
aria,
Ulu Gerok,
West Malaysia |
Introduction
Red eyes are
a feature of a large number of Hesperiinae genera from various parts
of the world, e.g. Lycas,
Tisias,
Carystus, Talides ( Peru ),
Gangara, Matapa, Pirdana,
Erionota ( Malaysia ) and
Hesperilla ( Australia ).
All of these
butterflies are either crepuscular, i.e. flying mainly at dawn and
dusk; or are found in the depths of the forest where little
sunlight penetrates even in the middle of the day. They
therefore need particularly acute vision and high sensitivity in
low light. In the eyes of all Hesperiidae the distance
between the cones and rods, and the sensory cells behind them is
greater than in other butterfly families. This allows more light
to spill onto neighbouring rods, which increases resolution and
sensitivity.
In the case of the red-eyed genera the
distance between the cones and rods is such that only certain
wavelengths of light are reflected back to the observer.
There are 8
Matapa species, all found in the
Indo-Australian region. Matapa aria
is the commonest and most widespread of these, being found in
India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and the
Philippines.
The wings of
Matapa aria are unmarked, and dark
chocolate brown on both surfaces - the photo above depicts a
faded example.
Habitats
In Malaysia this is a fairly scarce species, found in primary
and secondary lowland rainforest.
Lifecycle
The
larva is whitish, with noticeably wrinkled skin. It has a
yellowish-brown head, slightly marked with black on the mouth.
It lives within a shelter constructed by rolling a bamboo leaf
into a tube, fastened together with silk.
The larval
foodplants are various species of bamboo -
Bambusa and Ochlandra (
Poaceae ).
The chrysalis
is formed within the larval shelter, and is attached by the
cremaster to the silk lining. It is a very pale and glossy
greenish-white colour, except for the eyes capsules which are red.
Adult behaviour
This species is usually encountered singly when attracted to
house lights in the early evening. At dusk it can sometimes be
seen nectaring at flowers. On the rarer occasions when it is
seen in daylight it is usually quite reluctant to fly.
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