Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Fruhstorfer's
Silverline
Spindasis seliga
FRUHSTORFER, 1912
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
LYCAENINAE
Tribe - APHNAEINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Spindasis
seliga, Gopeng, West Malaysia |
Introduction
There
are 49 species in the genus
Spindasis,
of which 29 are African, and the remainder Oriental. Peninsular Malaysia has 5
species -
syama,
lohita,
seliga, kutu
and
vixinga.
All of these except kutu
also occur on Borneo.
The pattern of
silver stripes functions to divert the eyes of predators away from the
butterfly's head, and towards the tornus. The bright orange tornal spot, and the
white-tipped "false antennae" tails, which are wiggled while the butterfly
rests, add further to the back-to-front illusion. A bird or reptile intending to
attack a butterfly will always try to
anticipate the direction in which it will try to escape. Accordingly
they aim their attack just ahead of what they believe to be the head of the
insect, but the back-to front illusion fools them into aiming at the tail, and the butterfly is able to make it's escape in the opposite direction.
Habitats
Most
of the African species, and some of those from the Oriental region, are found on
savannah or dry scrubby grassland habitats, while others are montane species.
The illustrated species seliga
however is a forest insect, usually seen in light gaps or along wide trails.
Lifecycle
The caterpillar is dark green, mottled with paler markings.
It feeds on the foliage of the shrubs
Dioscorea,
Xylia,
and
Psidium,
and is attended by ants, which "milk" it to obtain sugary secretions. It lives,
and eventually pupates, within a shelter constructed from fragments of bark or
stem.
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Spindasis
seliga, Gopeng, West Malaysia |
Adult behaviour
Both sexes are usually
encountered singly or occasionally in two's and three's, and are
typically seen when resting on the
foliage of trees or shrubs at a height of about 2 - 3m above the
ground. They have a rapid fluttery flight which is difficult to
follow with the eye.
Males sometimes
visit sandbanks, where they perch on rocks or stones, with
the "false antennae" raised higher than the true antennae. Upon
landing they wiggle the tails for a few moments, but once they
have assessed that they are in no immediate danger from predators,
they stop this activity and remain perfectly still.
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