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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.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 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.
 
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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......
 
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.

 
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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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