06 February 2014

Butterflies Galore! : Cruiser

Butterflies Galore!
The Cruiser (Vindula dejone erotella)



The Cruiser is a good example of sexual dimorphism in butterflies. This is phenomenon where the male and female of a species appear distinctly different from each other. Males of the Cruiser are more common, and often encountered puddling at sandy streambanks and forest footpaths. Their bright orange colour and large size make them conspicuous in the forested areas of the nature reserves. More pictures of the Cruiser can be found here.

The female, however, is a pale greenish-grey with a prominent white post-discal band edged with a dark zig-zag pattern, running across both wings. The orange ocelli on the hindwings are large and prominent. The females rarely puddle, and prefer feeding on flowers, like in this shot by ButterflyCircle member Nelson Ong, where the butterfly is feeding on the flowers of the Mile-A-Minute creeper.

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