Life History of the Malayan Snow Flat

Life History of the Malayan Snow Flat (Tagiades calligana)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Tagiades Hübner, 1819
Species: calligana Butler, 1879
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 36-40mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant: Dioscorea pyrifolia (Dioscoreaceae).

A Malayan Snow Flat displaying its wing underside.

A male Malayan Snow Flat resting on the side of a plastic container, giving us a view of its underside.

A newly eclosed male Malayan Snow Flat.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Above, the wings are dark brown. On the forewing, there is a white hyaline spot in each of spaces 3,4,5,6,7,8 and 11.  The forewing cell features an elongate upper spot, and in some specimens, a smaller lower spot. Additionally, the female has one spot in space 2. On the hindwing, there is a large white tornal area  with its inner edge reaching vein 6. In this whitened area,  there are black marginal spots at the end of veins 1b, 2 3 and 4, with the one at  vein 1b rather faint and even absent in some specimens. There are additional black post-discal spots in spaces 5 and 6, lying at the edge of the whitened area.   Underneath, the wings are similarly marked as per above but with the  whitened area on the hindwing  extended to the basal area, and with the marginal spot at vein 1b much larger and prominent than that on the upperside.

A newly eclosed female  Malayan Snow Flat.

A female Malayan Snow Flat  resting on the side of a plastic container.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:  
This species is moderately rare in Singapore and its distribution is restricted to the forested areas of the  Central Catchment and Bukit Timah nature reserves. The adults are strong flyers  and are more active in the cooler hours of the day.  As is the case for the other Tagiades species, the adults have the habit of perching on the underside of a leaf between flights, and with its wings opened flat.

A Malayan Snow Flat perching on the underside of a leaf.

Early Stages:
To date only one local host plant, Dioscorea pyrifolia, has been recorded for the Malayan Snow Flat. This plant can be found growing at a few sites within the local nature reserves. It is possible  that  one or more of other Dioscorea spp. present in the nature reserves is/are the larval host for  the Malayan Snow Flat. Further field observations are needed to ascertain this. The caterpillars of the Malayan Snow Flat feed on  leaves of the host plant. When not  feeding, the caterpillars seek  safety and concealment in a leaf shelter formed  by cutting and folding a leaf fragment along the edge of the leaf. 

Local host plant: Dioscorea pyrifolia.

A partially eaten leaf of the host plant with a leaf shelter.

The eggs of the Malayan Snow Flat are laid singly on the petiole of a young leaf  of the host plant. The whitish egg is hemispherical  with surface marked with longitudinal ridges running from the pole to the rim of the base. The egg  is well concealed in a mass of black setae deposited by the mother butterfly.  Each egg has a diameter of about 0.9-1mm.

Two views of an egg of the Malayan Snow Flat.

Two views of a mature egg of the Malayan Snow Flat. Note the polar portion of the egg shell has already been nibbled away.

The egg takes about 3-4 days to hatch. The young caterpillar emerges by eating away the polar  part of the egg shell. The rest of the egg shell is not eaten by the newly hatched which is about 1.8-1.9mm in length. The pale yellowish  body is roughly cylindrical in shape and the head capsule is black in color.

Two views of a  newly hatched caterpillar, length: 1.9mm.

The newly hatched makes its way to the leaf edge to  construct its very first  leaf shelter right away.  It ventures out of the shelter from time to time to feed on the leaf lamina in the vicinity. As the caterpillar grows, the body assumes a strong green to dark green undertone.   After reaching about 3.5mm in about 3 days, the caterpillar moults to the 2nd instar.

Two views of a  1st instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 3.5mm.

The body of the 2nd instar caterpillar is pale  whitish with a green undertone.  The head is black and broadened sideways to two short  tips at the upper end.  The  surface of  the body is dotted with  numerous tiny whitish speckles. This instar lasts about 3  days with the body length reaching about 6.5-7mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar,  length: 6.5mm.

A 2nd instar caterpillar mid-way through the construction of its leaf shelter.

The 3rd instar caterpillar closely resembles the 2nd instar caterpillar. The head capsule is still black but broader sideways and with the two raised tips more angled and prominent. The tiny speckles  are whitish to yellowish. This instar takes about 3-4 days to complete with body length reaching about 12mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar,  length: 9.5mm.

A late 3rd instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult.

The 4th instar caterpillar is little changed  from the  3rd instar in both body markings and coloration.   This instar lasts about 4 days with body length reaching about 21mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, length: 19.5mm.

Two views of a late 4th instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult.

The 5th instar caterpillar has similar body markings as in the 4th instar but the colour of its head changed to a pale shade of reddish brown. The body markings become increasing yellowish as growth proceeds in this instar. The 5th instar lasts for about 8-8.5 days, and the body length reaches up to 30mm.

A newly moulted  5th instar caterpillar, its head capsule still "uncoloured".

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, early  in this stage, length: 21mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, later in this stage, length:30mm.

On the last day of 5th instar, the body decolorises  to a very pale shade of yellowish green. The caterpillar ceases feeding and stations within its leaf shelter. The pre-pupatory larva prepares for the pupal phase with a series of silk construction work with the main pieces being a silk girdle across the dorsum of its early abdominal segments, and a short and thickened transverse silk band on the substrate at  its posterior end. Both the dorsal point of the girdle and the transverse band are further secured by vertical/oblique threads to the inner wall of the shelter. Soon the pre-pupatory larva becomes dormant in its leaf shelter. Pupation takes place about 0.5-1 day later.

The pre-pupa and the fresh pupa of a brown form  Malayan Snow Flat caterpillar.

The girdled pupa is secured  with its cremaster attached to the short transverse band on the substrate. It has a short thorax, a rather long abdomen, a pointed rostrum and two small ear-like appendages at the leading edge of the mesothorax. The body is pale beige brown with two large triangular white patches on the side of the mesothorax and first three abdominal segments.  Length of pupae: 20-21mm.

Two views of a pupa of the Malayan Snow Flat.

Frontal and side views of the anterior of a  pupa of the Malayan Snow Flat.

After about 7 days of pupal development, the pupal turns dark. The following day, the adult butterfly emerges from the pupal case.

Two views of a mature pupa of the Malayan Snow Flat.

References:

• The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, The Malayan Nature Society.
• Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 1st Edition, 2006.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Tan Ben Jin, Sunny Chir and Horace Tan

Random Gallery - Spotted Judy

Random Butterfly Gallery
01 : The Spotted Judy (Abisara geza niya)


ISO1250 | 1/100s | f/4.5 | Fill-Flash | HandHeld | Canon 1DMkIII | Tamron 180mm

Many members of ButterflyCircle are accomplished photographers in their own right, and this new series will feature random works from various members on a regular basis. On most weekends, members are out in the field, photographing butterflies and always striving to get a better shot that attempts to improve on the previous one.

Members then share their hard work at the ButterflyCircle forums. This series captures some random shots from the forums and features our members' latest works on this Blog. The objective is to share with our readers, recent random butterfly shots whilst we research and prepare the longer weekend articles on this blog.

For the opening shot in this new series, we have a Spotted Judy (Abisara geza niya) taken by Sunny Chir.

Butterfly of the Month - March 2012

Butterfly of the Month - March 2012
The Chocolate Albatross (Appias lyncida vasava)

Around this time two years ago in 2010, the region faced a period of very low rainfall, and Singapore experienced one of its driest months in 140 years, where there was only 6.3 mm of rain for the whole month! Subsequently, just three months later, floods hit Orchard Road, a major shopping belt in Singapore, on 16 Jun 2010, with 100mm of rain inundating the island in just two hours!

Now in 2012, the weather is uncharacteristically wet for the month of March, with heavy rains falling on a few days of every week - often with heavy thunderstorms that brought heavy rainfall all over the island. The meteorological station's radar map below on a typical rainy morning on 14 Mar shows the entire region stretching from the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan across to Singapore, and to large parts of southern Johor in Malaysia blanketed with heavy precipitation.

The flower of the month for March is the Daffodil (Narcissus spp.). The flower is a spring blooming bulb. The traditional Daffodil is a ring of light golden or white petals with a trumpet shaped center of a darker contrasting shade of gold/yellow.

The Daffodil is used prominently for decorating during the Chinese New Year in both China and festivals celebrating this holiday around the world. Daffodils are poisonous and can be harmful or even deadly if eaten.

March is traditionally the start of the butterfly season in parts of peninsula Malaysia and Singapore, where numbers of butterflies typically increase, peaking in May or June. However, with the changes in weather, it is yet to be observed if the butterfly season will be delayed somewhat.

As the numbers of butterflies increase during this time of the year, some species are known to migrate in numbers across parts of Malaysia. Some species of Pieridae, which are not normally resident in Singapore, fly southwards and occasionally make their appearance in the Garden City. One such species, is the Chocolate Albatross (Appias lyncida vasava) our Butterfly of the Month for March 2012.

The Chocolate Albatross is common in Malaysia, and seasonally seen in abundance. On some occasions, we have observed up to 50 or more individuals puddling at damp sandy spots along river banks in the forests. The species is not a resident species in Singapore, but records have shown that the Chocolate Albatross appears in Singapore in some years, only to be totally absent and not sighted at all in other years.

When the butterfly appears (past records indicate that it is almost always observed in the months of March to May of certain years), it can be seen as far south as the Central Catchment forests within the reservoir parks of Upper Seletar, MacRitchie and Lower Peirce. Moreover, several individuals are encountered together, either puddling or flying around flowering plants. In one instance, a female was recorded from the Sime Forest area of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.



The butterfly is skittish, and a fast flyer, like its close relative, the Striped Albatross (Appias libythea olferna), a common species in Singapore. The male Chocolate Albatross is white on the upperside, with dentate black marginal borders on the fore and hind wings.

The hindwing beneath is a rich lemon yellow with a dark brown border on both the fore- and hindwings. In Malaysia, large congregations of the males of this species are often encountered puddling, often in the company of other Pierids, Nymphalids and Papilionids.

Females are much rarer, and typically found feeding at flowers along the forest edge. They appear almost medium grey, as the upperside is heavily black dusted with a few broad white streaks, whilst the underside is grey with the hindwing dusted with yellow, with the veins prominently marked.

Both sexes have been observed to sunbathe with their wings partially opened on the top surfaces of leaves in the early hours of the morning, or on bright sunny days in the late afternoon. Males also sunbathe on nearby bushes especially after a long bout of puddling and have had their fill of nutrients.


Puddling Chocolate Albatrosses.

And as the month of March moves to a close, we end this blog article with a video clip shot by ButterflyCircle member Loke PF, of a congregation of Chocolate Albatrosses, flying in and out of the frame as they puddle and jostle for the best spots to sip their life-sustaining nutrients from the damp sandy bank. This video clip was shot at Fraser's Hill, Malaysia.

Text by Khew SK : Video clip by Loke PF : Photos by Chng CK, Goh LC, Khew SK, Loke PF, Anthony Wong & Benjamin Yam

Life History of the Common Lascar

Life History of the Common Lascar (Pantoporia hordonia hordonia)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Pantoporia Hübner, 1819
Species: hordonia Stoll, 1790
Subspecies: hordonia Stoll, 1790
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 40-50mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Archidendron clypearia (Leguminosae, Mimosoideae), Parkia speciosa (Leguminosae, Mimosoideae, common name: Petai)

A Common Lascar displaying its wing underside.

A Common Lascar puddling on damp ground in the nature reserve.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
Above, the wings are dark brown to black with orange markings. On the forewing, there is a broad orange cell streak with two small indentations. Post-discal spots in spaces 2 and 3 are in echelon. The orange submarginal line on the forewing  has a thinner grey fascia lying on the inner side. The hindwing has a subbasal streak passing through base of cell, and a basal streak passing along costa. The dorsum of the thorax has a small orange   band aligned with the forewing cell streaks. Underneath, the wings have pale orange markings corresponding to those on the upperside, but generally larger. These markings are set against a background marbled in pale brown to dark brown paterns with intricate details.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:  
This species is moderately common in Singapore and its distribution is restricted to the Central Catchment and Bukit Timah nature reserves. The adults are weak flyers  but are rather alert  and skittish, and would quickly ascend to the tree top when alarmed.  The adults have been sighted visiting flowers and puddling on wet ground, and would typically open their wings fully when perching.

Early Stages:
 

Local host plant #1: Parkia speciosa.
 
The local host plants, Parkia speciosa and Archidendron clypearia, are common at several locations within the local nature reserves. The caterpillars of the Common Lascar feed on the (compound) leaves of these two  host plants. Although the caterpillar has no qualm with  feeding on green leaflets once in a while,  its diet consists mainly of these leaflets in the withered state. Such leaflets are created after the caterpillar cuts  the petiole or rachis of a compound leaf, thus depriving the detached part of water and nutrient supplies. The detached part stays on the host plant with the aid of  silk threads spun by the caterpillar while it works intermittently to cut the petiole/rachis.

A Petai plant with one compound leaf cut by a Common Lascar caterpillar.

Local host plant #2: Archidendron clypearia.

Between feeding, the caterpillar seeks safety and concealment among the leaflets in the drooping part of the cut compound leaf. To  avoid detection by a prey, Its  movement on the rachis is typically slow, jerky and stealthly.  

Common Lascar: eating withered leaflets, movement and concealment among drying leaflets.

A female Common Lascar ovipositing an egg on a leaflet of the Petai plant.

The eggs of the Common Lascar are laid singly on either surface of a  leaflet of the host plant. The eggs are somewhat globular in shape, with surface marked with hexagonal pits and bearing spines at pit corners, giving them the appearance of minute sea-urchins. The micropylar sits atop. Freshly laid eggs are pale green in colour, and would turn yellowish   when maturing. Each egg has a diameter of about 0.8mm, and a height of about 0.9mm.

Two views of an egg of the Common Lascar laid on the Petai plant.

Two views of a mature egg of the Common Lascar. Note the visiable head capsule of the caterpillar.

The egg takes about 3-4 days to hatch. The young caterpillar emerges by eating away part of the egg shell. The rest of the egg shell becomes the first meal for the newly hatched which is about 2mm in length. The pale green  body is cylindrical in shape and is covered with many small tubercles and short setae. The head capsule is pale brown in color.

A newly hatched caterpillar half way through eating its egg shell, length: 2mm.

A 1st instar caterpillar hark at work at cutting the rachis of a Petai leaf, length: 2.8mm.

As the caterpillar grows, the body assumes a green to dark green undertone. Four pairs of subdorsal tubercles, found on the 2nd and 3rd thoracic segments, 2nd and 8th abdominal segments, are noticeable upon close scrutiny.  After reaching about 4.0mm in 4-6 days, the caterpillar moults to the 2nd instar.

Two views of a  1st instar caterpillar, length: 2.8mm.

The body of the 2nd instar caterpillar is pale  brownish with a green undertone.  The head is pale brown.  The  surface of both the body and the head is covered with numerous tiny whitish tubercles bearing short setae. This instar lasts about 5-7 days with the body length reaching about 7mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, early in tthis stage, length: 4mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, later in tthis stage, length: 5.6mm.

The 3rd instar caterpillar could occur in two colour forms: green form or brown form  where the body and the head are  pale green or brown respectively.  A long dorsal saddle, which runs from the dorsum of the 2nd abdominal segment and tapers to a narrow dorsal band at the posterior end, begins to take shape towards the end of this instar.  At the same time, faint lateral oblique stripes become noticeable on 2nd, 3rd and 4th abdominal segments. The subdorsal tubercles on 2nd and 3rd thoracic segments, 2nd and 8th abdominal segments are still short but more  pointed than in the 2nd instar.  A pale brown or whitish band runs sub-spiracularly along the side of the abdodmen. This instar takes about 5-7 days to complete with body length reaching about 10mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 6.8mm

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, brown form,  length: 9.8mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, green form,  length: 9.5mm.

The 4th instar caterpillar resembles the 3rd instar caterpillar closely with the same colour forms. In some specimens, one or more of the lateral oblique stripes on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th abdominal segments are darkened and contrast strongly against the body base colour. The 4 pairs of subdorsal spines, though still  diminished in length, are now more prominent in this instar. The long dorsal saddle become more prominent as it appears in lighter shade than the rest of the body.  This instar lasts 6-8 days with body length reaching about 14mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, green form, length: 13.8mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, brown form, length: 12.5mm.

The 5th instar caterpillar resembles the 4th instar closely.  A general and observable  trend is the slight but noticeable increase in length in the 4 pairs of subdorsal spiones. The long dorsal saddle also gains greater prominence through greater contrast in its colour against the rest of body, and that its front and rear boundary are typically highlighted with dark borders. 

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 13mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, later in this stage, length: 21mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, green form, length: 23mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, brown form, length: 23mm.

The 5th instar lasts for about 7-9 days, and the body length reaches up to 22-23mm. On the last day, the color of the body decolorises slightly to a pale shade of brown or green. The caterpillar ceases feeding and stations itself at the underside of the rachis or the mid rib within the cut and withered part of the leaf.  At this pupation site, the caterpillar spins a silk mound  from which it soon hangs vertically to take on the pre-pupatory pose.

The pre-pupa  and the fresh pupa of a brown form  Common Lascar caterpillar.

The pre-pupa and the fresh pupa of a green form Common Lascar caterpillar.

The pupa suspends itself via a cremastral attachment to the silk mound with no supporting silk girdle. Depending on the colour form assumed by the final instar caterpiollar, the fresh pupa could be either brownish or greenish.  The thorax and anterior part of the abdomen are broad, and  the wing cases are dilated laterally. The dorsum of the thorax is raised and angular. Several silvery spots adorn the dorsum of the mesothorax, metathorax and first abdominal segment. The head is bluntly cleft at its front edge with small pointed lateral vertices. Length of pupae: 10-13mm.

Three views of a pupa of the Common Lascar.

After about 5 days of development, the pupal turns dark as the development within the pupal case comes to an end. The orange markings on the forewing upperside become discernible through the pupal skin. The following day, the adult butterfly emerges from the pupal case.

Three views of a mature pupa of the Common Lascar.

A Common Lascar emerges from its pupal case.

A newly eclosed Common Lascar.

References:

• The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, The Malayan Nature Society.
• Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 1st Edition, 2006.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Federick Ho, Khew SK and Horace Tan