Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Dark-brand Bush Brown
Mycalesis mineus
LINNAEUS, 1758
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
SATYRINAE
Tribe - MYCALESINA
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Mycalesis mineus macromalayana,
Taman Negara,
West Malaysia |
Introduction
Mycalesis is one of the largest
Satyrine genera, comprising of 88 known species, of which 2 have
yet to be given scientific names. The genus is confined to the
Oriental and Australian regions.
The butterflies
are instantly recognisable as a group, all being some shade of
brown on both wing surfaces, and marked with a series of
conspicuous ocelli, and a single straight median line across the
underside of both wings. Many of the species are very similar,
but can usually be distinguished from each other by close
examination of the configuration of the ocelli and submarginal
lines.
Mycalesis mineus is found over most
of the Oriental region including in India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Korea,
West Malaysia, Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, Kalimantan,
Sumatra and Sulawesi.
It produces wet
season, dry season and intermediate forms. The wet season form
is illustrated. The dry season morph is much paler, more uniform
in colour, and has the whole wing surface covered in fine dark
striations. Additionally the ocelli are much reduced in size,
and the median line is much thinner. The intermediate morph
which occurs in the seasonal transition is as might be expected,
intermediate in appearance between with wet season and dry
season varieties.
Habitats
This is a lowland species, found in open areas of primary and
secondary forest, including along riverbanks, roadsides, railway
tracks, clearings, gardens and other grassy places.
Lifecycle
The egg is
spherical, pure white in colour and glossy. It is laid singly on
blades of grass.
The fully grown
larva is quite plump for a Satyrine, and is a drab brownish colour, minutely dotted with
dark brown. It is slightly hairy, and has a pair of short pinkish
caudal prongs. The thorax narrows considerably to produce a
narrow "neck". The head is dull brown, covered in very short
bristles, and adorned with a pair of short thorn-like horns. The
larva feeds nocturnally on various bamboo-like grasses
including Microstegium,
Pogonatherum,
Thysanolaena and Oryza (
Poaceae ).
The chrysalis
is of the usual plump Satyrine shape, pale green, unmarked
except for a few black dots around the edge of the wing cases,
and is suspended by a stout cremaster from a stem or the
underside of a leaf in the vicinity of the foodplants.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are active mainly in overcast conditions. The
flight is slow, bobbing and erratic, as is typical of Satyrines.
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