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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of Malaysia and Borneo
 
Fluffy Tit
Zeltus amasa HEWITSON, 1865
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily - THECLINAE
Tribe - EUMAEINI
subtribe - IOLAINI
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Zeltus amasa, Mulu national park, Sarawak, Borneo
 
Introduction
 
There are several hundred Lycaenid species in the Oriental region, including about 270 members of the Theclinae, which includes amongst others, the Oak Blues ( Arhopala ), the Hairstreaks, and the long-tailed Hypolycaena, Jacoona, Suasa, Cheritra, Eooxylides and Zeltus species.
 
Amongst the latter long-tailed group there are many south-east Asian species with underside patterns similar to the butterfly illustrated. These include Hypolycaena tora, Suasa lisides, Sinthusa nasaka, and the nominate species Zeltus amasa. Of these, only lisides and amasa occur in Malaysia. Both species have dark brown uppersides with a powdery blue suffusion over the basal area of both wings, but the undersides are sufficiently different for easy identification - only amasa has orange on the hindwings.
 
Zeltus amasa is found in India, Burma, Thailand, West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java and the Philippines.
 
Habitats
 
This species occurs in lowland rainforest habitats at elevations between sea level and about 800m.
 
Lifecycle
 
The fully grown caterpillar is described by Eliot as being green, and covered in a layer of short fine hairs, with black and red markings. The foodplant is unknown, but larvae of the very closely related genus Chliaria feed on the flowers of orchids.
 
Adult behaviour

 

The butterflies are almost always seen singly, but are not uncommon. Males often sit on the foliage of bushes, and visit damp sand, particularly if covered in decomposing leaf litter. I have also found them feeding at bird droppings on the forest floor.

 

In dappled sunlight both sexes will bask with the wings outspread, displaying the intense reflective powder-blue scales which cover the basal area of the forewings and the distal area of the hindwings.

 
                                                        
In common with most other butterflies in Malaysia, Borneo and Palawan, the habitats of this species are severely endangered. Rainforest only remains on the steepest mountain-sides, and at a small number of nature reserves. Many of the reserves are now threatened with reclassification and subsequent exploitation at the hands of major international companies.
 
Tragically, the huge areas of tropical rainforest which once covered the lowlands of West Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak have been almost entirely cleared, with only a few "islands" of original forest remaining, surrounded by vast oil palm plantations.
 
The forests of Kalimantan ( the Indonesian sector of Borneo ) have suffered a similar fate, and what little remains is now under severe threat,
as the protected status of nature reserves is being revoked to make way for concession areas that will be subjected to open cast coal mines, logging, and clearance for immense oil palm plantations to satisfy the demand for bio-diesel fuel.
 
The extent of the devastation is immense, and the consequences catastrophic, not only for butterflies, but also for orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, hornbills, and myriads of other mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects - our natural heritage is being annihilated.
 
You can help prevent further devastation - please lobby your governments, and contact the rainforest conservation organisations who organise on-line petitions and use scientific evidence to apply pressure to the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia to halt the devastation.

 

 
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
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