The White Spotted Palmer (Eetion elia)
This medium sized skipper is moderately rare in Singapore, appearing more often in the forested nature reserves. It is often found lurking in shaded heavily forested areas, resting on the top surfaces of leaves. When there is a flowering tree, particularly of the Syzygium spp, the White Spotted Palmer can be seen zipping rapidly amongst the flowers and feeding greedily.
The skipper is dark brown above with white hyaline spots. In the male, the white dorsal area on the hindwing is less extensive than in the female. The whitened basal half of the underside of the hindwing is distinctive in this species and it is quite easily identified without much doubt. The abdomen is white banded above and entirely white beneath. The life history of this butterfly has been recorded here. This shot of a pristine White Spotted Palmer was taken by ButterflyCircle member Loke PF at a flowering Syzygium tree last weekend.
