Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Melanitis Fabricius, 1807
Species: leda Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies: leda Linnaeus, 1758
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 50-60mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant: Megathyrsus maximum (Poaceae, common name: Guinea Grass).
Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
The wings have falcate (sickle-shaped) termen (outer margin), more so in the female. On the upperside, the wings are dark brown with a large sub-apical patch which is black with two white spots embedded and shaded with orange brown on the inner side. On the underside, both wings differ markedly between the wet season and dry season forms. In the wet season form, the wings are bluff or greyish brown, bearing series of transverse striae in dark brown and there is a series of submarginal black eye-spots which are white-centred and yellow-ringed. In the dry season forms, the wing markings are more cryptic and the submarginal spots are less prominent, reduced in size or even obsolete. In some specimens, the markings on the wings exhibit drastic contrast between (very) dark brown and (very) pale brown patches.
Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
The Common Evening Brown is a moderately rare butterfly in Singapore. Adults are typically sighted flying at dawn and before dusk, at and around grass patches, thickets or dense vegetation. The adults fly rapidly at low level and in short hops, and have been observed to puddle on wet grounds and visiting flowers for nectar. In Singapore, the wet season form is more commonly seen than the dry season form.
