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Text and photographs
protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins
2007, and must not be published
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Butterflies of
Malaysia
PAGE 1
A gallery of
photographs taken by Adrian Hoskins
Photographs taken
in West Malaysia and Borneo.
More photos will be
added periodically, so please revisit regularly.
Butterflies of
Malaysia :
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Click on
thumbnails to see more photos, and detailed descriptions of the
distribution, habitats, lifecycle and behaviour of each
illustrated species......
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.
Website designed, produced and owned by
Adrian Hoskins
Rajah Brooke's Birdwing
Trogonoptera
brookiana
In
common with most other butterflies in Malaysia and Borneo, the
habitats of this species are severely endangered. Rainforest only
remains on the steepest mountain-sides, or at a small number of
nature reserves. The huge areas of rainforest which once covered
the lowlands have now been almost entirely cleared and converted
to vast oil palm plantations or open cast coal mines.
Branded Imperial
Eooxylides tharis
This beautiful Thecline occurs in
peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Java, and Sumatra. It
is found in wet rainforest areas at elevations from sea level to
about 1000m.
Males are
usually found in
small groups, and are often seen walking about on the stems of bushes in
shady areas of disturbed forest. There they congregate on the stems
of shrubs, feeding at the sticky secretions of aphid or
membracids. On more than one occasion I have found males
head-locked together, apparently trying to barge the other out of
the way.
Purple Sapphire
Heliophorus epicles
This stunning hairstreak-like butterfly is a member of the tribe Lycaenini - the Coppers. The upperside is flushed with purple and marked with orange subapical and submarginal bands. There are 10 species in the genus, of which androcles, which occurs from Sikkim to western China, is the most dramatic. It's underside is similar to epicles, but the upperside of the male has the basal area of the forewings brilliant metallic blue in the wet season form, and a shimmering metallic green in the dry season form.
Club Beak
Libythea myrrha
The Libytheinae contains only 19 species worldwide. All the species
have dark uppersides marked with orange streaks and spots, and
undersides cryptically marbled in shades of brown. They can be
instantly recognised by their angular forewings and the long
"beak" formed by the elongated labial palpi. The palpi are sensory
organs used for the detection of pheromones, and are far more
prominent in Libytheines than in any other butterfly family.
Common
Tiger
Danaus genutia
All Danaine butterflies are toxic or distasteful to birds, their bodies containing toxins derived from the larval foodplants, and often supplemented by further toxins derived from adult food sources. The bright colours of Danaus butterflies advertise their poisonous qualities to birds, in much the same way that the yellow and black bands of wasps advertise the fact that they can sting. Any bird that suffers the unpleasant experience of eating a Danaus is unlikely to attack any similarly coloured butterfly.
Dragontail
Lamproptera curius
Dragontails are usually encountered singly. They have a very rapid whirring flight, and use the long tails as a rudder - this allows them to stop in mid air and make very sudden changes of direction, with the result that they can easily be mistaken in flight for dragonflies. It is quite feasible that they have evolved to become mimics of dragonflies, and thus escape being attacked and eaten by them. They are found almost exclusively in the vicinity of running water, most commonly at waterfalls or mountain streams.
Common Bluebottle
Graphium sarpedon
Most Graphium species have dark brown wings, marked with bands of translucent green or yellow "windows". Males of sarpedon congregate in groups of up to 50 individuals, to imbibe mineral-laden moisture from the sandbanks of certain black-water rivers. They are much more abundant at lower altitudes, but can often be seen on the ground in one's and two's in hill country. In some countries, e.g. Sri Lanka, the butterflies hardly ever settle on the ground, but are commonly seen flying around flowering trees.
Autumn Leaf
Doleschallia
bisaltide
Butterflies in the Indo-Australian genera Doleschallia and Kallima, and in the African genera Kamilla, Mallika and Kallimoides are collectively known as Dead Leaf butterflies. They are characterised by having a produced apex, and the hw tornus extended to form a short tail. The resulting shape, together with the cryptic colouration gives them a remarkable resemblance to a dead leaf, complete with "midrib" and markings resembling patches of mould.
Fluffy Tit
Zeltus amasa
This very attractive species is almost always seen singly, but is 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 much of the upper surface of the wings.
Horsfield's Darkie
Allotinus horsfieldi
Horsfield's Darkie is one
of several very similar species in the tribe Miletini, all of which are
characterised by having attractively mottled and striated patterns on the
underside wings, a long thin abdomen, a very long proboscis, and erect labial
palpi.
The adults and larvae of most
Allotinus species live in association
with ants, and feed parasitically or carnivorously on Homoptera (
aphids etc ). It is probable that all Miletinae species are
involved in complex 3-way symbiotic relationships with ants and
Homoptera.
Common Caerulean
Jamides celeno
Caeruleans are often seen
imbibing moisture from damp soil and leaf-litter on the forest
floor. The pattern of striations on the wings divert the eyes of
avian predators away from the real head, and towards the
orange-rimmed back ocellus and "false-antennae" tails. Attacking
birds aim their beaks towards the area in which they predict a
butterfly will try to make it's escape, i.e. in front of the head.
The markings on the wings fool them into aiming just behind the
butterfly, which escapes in the opposite
direction.
Malay Red Harlequin
Paralaxita damajanti
Butterflies use brilliant
colours for a variety of purposes - to attract the attention of
potential mates, to advertise their unpalatability, or to confuse,
startle or warn avian predators. They also tend to occupy sunlit
areas where their colours and patterns can be shown to their best
advantage. Not so with
Paralaxita damajanti,
which is normally seen only as a silhouette in the shadowy world
it inhabits, and where it's flight is so quick and erratic that it
is almost impossible to see where it has settled.
Wavy-line Glory
Melanocyma faunula
In
the Oriental and Australian regions, the Morphinae ( which include
the neotropical
Morpho and Owl butterflies ) are
represented by the tribe Amathusiini. The genus
Melanocyma
includes just a single instantly recognisable species,
faunula.
It is
always encountered singly, flying around forest edge habitats or
sunny glades. It has a slowish wing beat, but flies rapidly,
nearly always settling on the foliage of trees at heights of
between 4 - 8m above ground level. Males are very reluctant to leave the vicinity of
favoured trees.
Jungle Glory
Thaumantis odana
Jungle Glories
are crepuscular in nature, spending most of the day at rest
amongst dead leaves beneath bushes in the forest undergrowth.
There they are very difficult to spot, as the disruptive pattern
of brown, cream and bluish tones on the underside is the perfect
camouflage against the wet leaf litter. If disturbed they suddenly
appear before the eyes as a flash of intense deep purplish-blue
zig-zagging rapidly just above the surface of the ground, and then
just as suddenly
disappear again.
Long-banded Silverline
Spindasis lohita
Peninsular Malaysia has 5 Spindasis species - syama, lohita, kutu, seliga and vixinga. All of these except kutu also occur on Borneo. The stripes function to direct the attention of birds away from the butterfly's head, and towards the tornus, which has a "false head" in the form of white-tipped "false antennae" tails, that are wiggled while the butterfly rests, creating the illusion that the butterfly is facing "back to front". Attacking birds are fooled into aiming to the right of the butterfly - which then makes it's escape leftwards. Butterflies of Malaysia : << PREVIOUS | NEXT >> |