Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Clipper
Parthenos sylvia
CRAMER, 1776
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
LIMENITIDINAE
Tribe - PARTHENINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Parthenos sylvia,
Kuala Woh, West Malaysia |
Introduction
The genus Parthenos comprises of 3
species, sylvia,
tigrina and
aspila. The latter 2 are endemic to Papua New Guinea,
while sylvia in comparison has an
extremely wide distribution being found in
Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra,
the Philippines, Sulawesi, Java, Bali, Papua New Guinea and
Irian Jaya.
Habitats
This species is found in primary rainforest, usually in the
vicinity of rivers, at elevations between sea level and about
300 metres.
Lifecycle
The larva is
brown, speckled with white dots, and has broad
greenish dorsal and lateral stripes. Each segment bears 4
multi-branched spines, purplish brown at the base and red on
the outer half. The larval
foodplants include Adenia
(
Passifloraceae ) and
Tinospora
( Menispermaceae ).
The chrysalis
occurs in 2 forms, either pale green or dark olive. It is rather
plain in appearance, without protuberances, and is suspended by
the cremaster from beneath a leaf.
Adult behaviour
The Clipper is
a powerful and fast flying butterfly. The flight consists of
short periods of gliding, alternating every few seconds with
shallow but rapid flickering wing beats.
On the
Kinabatangan river in Borneo I have observed hundreds of these
magnificent butterflies circling and gliding around tree tops
along several kilometres of the river edge.
Both sexes
commonly nectar at Lantana and
other flowers. Males will also settle on the ground to imbibe
moisture. If disturbed they fly up immediately, circle around at
a height of about 3 metres, and then resettle nearby.
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