Life History of the Lime Butterfly

Life History of the Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus)

An updated version of the life history of the Lime Butterfly is available by clicking on this link.

Butterfly Biodata :

Genus : Papilio (Linnaeus, 1758)

Species : demoleus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies : malayanus (Wallace,1865)
Common name : Lime Butterfly
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly : 60 – 80mm
Caterpillar Host Plant : Citrus microcarpa

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly :

On the upperside, the wings of the Lime Butterfly are black with large yellow markings. These form an irregular macular fascia running from the apex of the forewing to the mid-dorsum on the hindwing, and there is a series of yellow submarginal spots on both wings. At the bottom of the hindwing (space 1b) is a red spot with an anterior narrow blue lunule. As for the female, this blue lunule forms the anterior portion of a large black circular spot above the red spot. The underside is predominantly yellow with a series of reddish post-discal bars on the hindwing.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour :

This butterfly is common in gardens wherever the host plants of the species, Citrus spp. are cultivated. It is a strong flyer with a rapid erratic flight. It flies from flower to flower in search of nectar. Like many Papilionidae it has a characteristic flight when feeding, in that whilst the forewings are flapping rapidly, the hindwings are held almost stationary as if to balance the butterfly perched on a flower as it sucks nectar from the flower with its long proboscis.

In the cool morning hours, the Lime Butterfly may be found resting amongst shrubbery, sunbathing with its wings opened flat, as if to warm up before taking flight and going about the day's business.

An interesting phenomenon, particularly in the more affluent Asian countries, is that during the Lunar New Year celebrations, the Lime Butterfly appears to be more common than usual, due to the discarded Citrus plants which are traditionally purchased with the orange fruits ripened, to signify wealth during this Chinese festival. With the abundance of its host plant during this season, the female Lime Butterfly will waste no time ovipositing on the available host plants.

Early Stages :

The eggs are oviposited singly on the young leaves of the Citrus host plant. The egg is smooth, round and yellowish in colour, measuring around 1mm in diameter.

The egg of Lime Butterfly

After about 3-4 days, the caterpillar hatches from the egg, and immediately starts to consume the eggshell completely. The caterpillar then starts to eat the young leaf that the egg was laid upon.

The 1st instar caterpillar has a spiky appearance. The colour of its body is brown with yellowish-white markings with white hairs. As it feeds, the caterpillar usually stays in the middle of the upper side of the leaf. The first few instars of the caterpillar resemble bird droppings where it escapes predation by camouflaging itself in this manner.

1st instar Lime Butterfly caterpillar (3mm) consuming its eggshell upon hatching

As it moults into the 2nd instar, the dirty greenish-brown colour of its body remains similar as the 1st instar except that the saddle white band has widened somewhat. The hairy spikes of the 1st instar now take a more solid rubbery appearance.

2nd instar Lime Butterfly caterpillar (8mm)

In the 3rd instar is essentially similarly patterned as the 2nd instar. The colour of its body becomes richer, with white patches appearing near its head and last abdominal segments. It has an oily glossy appearance.

3rd instar Lime butterfly caterpillar (14mm)

In the 4th instar caterpillar, more whites patches appear throughout its body, dominating the earlier brown colour. The head also appears lighter in colour.

4th instar Lime butterfly caterpillar (25mm)

In the 5th or final instar, the caterpillar becomes a plain uniform green with a few dark brown markings. It has a pair of false "eyes" near its actual head, appearing much larger and fiercer to ward off predators. Also, when disturbed the caterpillar extrudes a pair of orange-yellow processes from the segment just behind the head, known as osmeterium, to alarm would-be predators.

Final instar Lime butterfly caterpillar (40mm)

After a total of 11 days upon hatching from the egg, the caterpillar then goes into a day of dormant pre-pupation pose after carefully selecting a perch onto which it can pupate upright.

Pre-pupa of the Lime butterfly

The pupa is light green with two projections to the front on its head and also one on its thorax. The abdominal segments are a bright lime green as opposed to the toned down green of the rest of the pupa. A silken girdle helps the pupa stay in an upward position.

Pupa of the Lime Butterfly (10x30mm)

After about 10 days, the pupa shell turns transparent and the wings of the butterfly can be seen through the semi-transparent pupa shell.

Upon eclosion, the adult butterfly emerges and hangs its wings out to dry, as it pumps fluids into the wings to expand them. When its wings are sufficiently dry and hardened, usually after about an hour or more, it takes its maiden flight.

Adult Lime Butterfly (underside view)

Adult Lime Butterfly (upperside view)

Text by LC Goh ; Edited by Khew SK ; Photos by LC Goh, Tan BJ and Neo CB.

Three Posies

Featuring the Common Posy, Dark Posy and Pygmy Posy

One of the definitions of the word Posy is a bouquet. Indeed, the three species of Posy found here in Singapore resemble colourful flowers with attractive black markings. Each species is endowed with three pairs of tails on the hindwings with the tail at vein 2 being the longest of the three.

The Posies belong to the genus Drupadia, of which three species are known to exist in Singapore. All three are forest species and are usually encountered in the nature reserves in the shaded understorey. At times they are found sunbathing with wings opened flat, displaying their blue or purple uppersides. They have a habit of fluttering with a skipping flight, and in some individuals, returning to the same favourite perch time and again. Males generally have a stronger flight than females.

The Common Posy (Drupadia ravindra moorei)

The most frequently encountered species is the Common Posy (Drupadia ravindra moorei). In the male, the forewing is dark brown and the hindwing a very attractive azure blue. The female is mainly brown, with a faint orange discal patch in some individuals. The underside is orange on the forewing with orange and black markings, and mainly white on the hindwing, with black solid bands and spots. Along the tornal edge are iridescent blue scales and the black-centred white tails emerge from veins 1b, 2 and 3, with the tail at vein 2 being the longest.

Upperside of a male Common Posy


Upperside of a female Common Posy

The Dark Posy (Drupadia theda thesmia)

The next species, the Dark Posy (Drupadia theda thesmia) is less often seen but occasionally several are seen together, frolicking at tree-top level in the late hours of the afternoon basking on the tops of leaves when the sun shines through the forest canopy. The male is dark purple above with an orange discal patch on the forewing. This form, f-minara is the typical male form found in Singapore. The female is brown with a bluish grey tornal patch on the hindwing which has a few black submarginal spots.

Upperside of a male Dark Posy


Upperside of a female Dark Posy

On the underside, the forewing is dark orange marked with darker transverse stripes, whilst the hindwing is white with black spots and lines. This species can be separated from the lookalike Common Posy in that the space between the two black stripes forming the cell-end bar on the hindwing beneath is white, and not solid black as in the Common Posy.

The Pygmy Posy (Drupadia rufotaenia rufotaenia)

The final and rarest of the three Posy species in Singapore is the Pygmy Posy (Drupadia rufotaenia rufotaenia). This species, which suggest a small female of the Common Posy, which it resembles. The Pygmy Posy has a wingspan of 20mm, which is about half the size of its other two cousins. In Singapore, it is often seen feeding on the sugary sap of the young shoots of the forest bush, Leea indica, where it stays still for long periods of time unless disturbed.

It can be reliably separated from the other two Posies in that the narrow submarginal orange band on the hindwing beneath is continuous from 1a and extends to vein 3.

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Khew SK, Sunny Chir, Horace Tan, Federick Ho.

Butterfly of the Month - March 2008

BUTTERFLY OF THE MONTH - MARCH 2008
The Fivebar Swordtail (Pathysa antiphates itamputi)

During certain times of the year, the Fivebar Swordtail can be observed puddling at damp spots along streams and footpaths in the nature reserves of Singapore. It is essentially a forest butterfly and is rarely seen in urban parks and gardens, preferring the sanctuary of the forested reserves .

In Singapore, after a prolonged rainy season towards the end of 2007, the species was rarely seen during the last few months of the year. As the weather turned hotter and drier after the Lunar New Year, a number of Fivebar Swordtails were seen puddling in the nature reserves. During the drier weeks towards the end of February and March 2008, the species became relatively more common and was spotted in various areas around the nature reserves. The species is a favourite amongst butterfly photographers, where it is easily photographed when puddling at damp sandy spots.

When in flight, it can often be mistaken as a Pierid species, as the long tails are not visble when it is encountered flying rapidly along the edges of the forested areas on sunny days. It is swift and erratic on the wing, and when in full flight, seldom stops to rest.

Males of the Fivebar Swordtail are frequently encountered puddling at moist spots. At times, more than one individual is seen, and also in the company of other Papilionidae like the Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon luctatius) and the Blue Jay (Graphium evemon eventus).

The Fivebar Swordtail has the characteristic long, slender and tapering tail at vein 4 of the hindwing, which is consistent in all the species of the genus Pathysa. The Fivebar Swordtail is the only representative of the genus in Singapore. The long sword-like tails are probably the source of inspiration for the common name of the species.

The species is creamy white above with a series of black transverse stripes in the costal area of the forewing and in which the basal and distal interspaces are filled with green. On the underside, the basal half of the hindwing is green, with black stripes and spots, with a distal half of the hindwing orange yellow.

The long tapering white-tipped tails measure about 4-5cm and project elegantly behind the butterfly as it stops to rest or feed. The body of the butterfly is white, with a lateral black stripe along the thorax, and breaking up into dashes along the abdomen. The eyes are an opaque jet black.

The Malaysian & Singaporean subspecies of the Fivebar Swordtail has the distinction of being one of the few butterflies in the region to bear a local name itamputi from the Malay words hitam meaning black, and putih meaning white.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Khew SK, Wong CM, James Chia, Horace Tan, Simon Sng and Sunny Chir

Life History of the Chestnut Angle

Life History of the Chestnut Angle (Odontoptilum angulatum angulatum)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Odontoptilum de Niceville, 1890
Species: angulatum C. Felder, 1862
Subspecies: angulatum C.Felder, 1862
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 40mm
Caterpillar Host Plants: Commersonia bartramia, Talipariti tiliaceum (Sea Hibiscus)
Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
The forewing termen is sinuous, and the hindwing prominently stepped at vein 7. The upperside is chestnut-brown with a complex, cryptic pattern, and has a crescentic hyaline spot in space 2, and a smaller spot above it near the base of space 3. Hindwing has elongated tornal cilia. The male possesses a tuft of white hairs on the fore coxae, and the female has a thick anal tuft on the abdomen.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour: This species is rather rare in Singapore. The adults are usually found near its larval food plants, or when feeding along a muddy track or on bird droppings. In Singapore, it may be found in an urban bushland where Commersonia bartramia grows, or about trees of Hibiscus tiliacus in coastal wetland. They frequently fly rapidly in bright sunshine in open spaces within forests or bushland, and visit flowers for nectar. Other sighting locations include various parts of the Central Catchment Area. Early Stages:

Host plant : Commersonia bartramia

The eggs are laid singly on the leaf upperside. Each egg is white and almost spherical with a flattened base and vertical ridges. The diameter is about 0.9mm. After an egg is laid, the mother butterfly rubs the tip of her abdomen over it. In so doing, pale brown abdominal hairs are glued to the chorion, effectively concealing the egg.


Egg covered in hairs (left), with hairs lost (right)


Mature egg (left), empty egg shell (right)
It takes 7 days for the collected egg to hatch. The young caterpillar eats just enough of the shell to emerge, and has a length of about 2mm. It has the typical cylindrical shape for skipper caterpillars, and there are short setae arising from regular rows of tubercles. The head is bilobed and hairy. The length of these fine "facial" hairs increases with instars.

1st instar caterpillar, length: 2.5mm

Soon after, the young caterpillar constructs its first leaf shelter by making short, curved cuts at the edge of the leaf and turns a small flap. It rests within the flap and ventures out to eat on nearby leaf surface.


The 1st leaf shelter for the 1st instar caterpillar
In later instars, the Chestnut Angle caterpillars make sinuous cuts which avoid the main veins so that the leaf flap remains green. They eat through the leaf at various points between leaf veins on this flap and this results in numerous holes appearing on the leaf shelter. It is interesting to note that Chestnut Angle caterpillars ballistically eject their individual faecal pellets (frass) at great speeds.

2nd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 4mm

After 4 days in 1st instar and reaching a length of about 3.5mm, the caterpillar moults to the next instar. The 2nd instar (and in later instar) caterpillar has its body covered with short hairs arising from numerous low tubercles.


2nd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 5mm

The 2nd instar caterpillar reaches a length of about 5.5mm, and after 6 days in this stage, it moults again. The 3rd instar takes 10 days to complete with the length reaching 12-13mm. During this period, the body color is initially yellow with a green undertone, but as the caterpillar develops, the color changes gradually to creamy white.


3rd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 6mm

3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 10mm

The 4th instar takes about 7 days to complete with body length reaching 19-20mm. The facial hairs are now visibly long and prominent.


4th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 14mm


A leaf shelter for a 4th instar caterpillar in the field
The final and 5th instar cat has rather long and dense hairs on its head, giving it a very bushy appearance. This stage takes about 10 days to complete with body length reaching 30mm.

5th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 27mm

At the end of 5th instar, the body of the caterpillar shrinks in length. Soon it becomes dormant in its leaf shelter and enters the preparatory pupa phase which lasts for one day.

Preparatory pupa of Chestnut Angle

Pupation takes place within the leaf shelter. The pupa secures itself with its cremaster attached to a short transverse band, and with vertcal and oblique threads connecting the transverse band and dorsal point of the girdle to the shelter wall. The pupa has a short thorax, a rather long abdomen, a short rostrum and low projections behind the prothoracic spiracles. There is also a pair of small but distinct orange projections on the anterior part of the mesothorax. Its body appearance is mostly white with a light green undertone, and against this background there are black spots arranged in neat symmetrical layout. Length of pupae: 17-19mm.

Fresh pupa of Chestnut Angle

After 7 days, the pupa becomes darkened in color signaling the imminent emergence of the adult. The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the mature pupa.


Mature pupa of Chestnut Angle


A newly eclosed Chestnut Angle


A newly eclosed Chestnut Angle resting on the inner side of a plastic container, showing its underside

References:

• The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society.
• The Butterflies of Hong Kong, M. Bascombe, G. Johnston, F. Bascombe, Princeton University Press 1999

Text and Photos by Horace Tan