Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Fluffy Tit
Zeltus amasa
HEWITSON, 1865
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
THECLINAE
Tribe - EUMAEINI
subtribe - IOLAINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Zeltus amasa,
Taman Negara national park, West Malaysia
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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.
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Zeltus amasa,
Ulu Gerok, West Malaysia
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Habitats
This species occurs in lowland rainforest habitats at elevations between sea
level and about 800m.
Lifecycle
The
fully grown caterpillar is green, and covered in a
layer of short fine hairs. The foodplant is
unknown, but larvae of the very closely related genus
Chliaria
feed on the flowers of orchids.
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Zeltus amasa,
Taman Negara national park, West Malaysia
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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.
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