Life History of the Common Mormon

Life History of the Common Mormon (Papilio polytes romulus)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Papilio Linnaeus, 1758
Species: polytesLinnaeus, 1758
Subspecies: romulusCramer, 1775
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 70-85mm
Caterpillar Host Plants: Murraya koenigii (Rutaceae, Common Name: Indian Curry Leaf), Merope angulata (Rutaceae, common name: Mangrove Lime), Clausena excavata (Rutaceae, common name: Pink Wampee), Citrus maxima (Rutaceae, common name: Pomelo), Citrus aurantifolia (Rutaceae, common name: Lime) and other Citrus spp.



A female form -polytes  Common Mormon sunbathing on a leaf.


A male Common Mormon puddling in the western nature reserve.


A male Common  Mormon puddling on damp ground.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
Above, the  male is black with a band of large whitish yellow spot running across the hindiwng. This band appears to continue to the forewing in the form of several white spots on the distal margin of the forewing. In Singapore, the female appears in two forms: form -polytes which mimics the Common Rose but with an entirely black abdomen; form -cyrus which resembles the male but has a red tornal spot in space 1a of the hindwing. Underneath, the male has a series of yellow to red submarginal lunules on the hindwing, while the female form -polytes  again resembling the male and  form -cyrus resembling that of the Common Rose. Both sexes have a spatulate tail at vein 4 of the hindwing.


A female form -polytes Common Mormon visiting a flower.



A female form -cyrus Common Mormon


Another puddling male Common Mormon.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour: 
Common Mormon is rather common in Singapore and can be found in both forested and urban areas in Singapore. The fast flying adults visit flowers for energy intakes and the males can be found puddling on damp grounds in their habitat. In urban settings, the adults can be found in housing areas and gardens where Citrus plants are grown.

Early Stages:
The local host plants include the Indian Curry Leaf plant and various Citrus spp. One notable addition is the Mangrove Lime (Merope angulata) which was found to be utilized as larval host plant by members of the Plant Systematics group of the Department of Biological Sciences (NUS) in the recent past. The caterpillars of the Common Mime feed on the young to middle-aged leaves of the host plants.


Host plant : Citrus maxima. Left: Young leaves and mature leaves. Right: a Pomelo fruit.


A mating pair of the Common Mormon with the female giving us a full view of its upperside.

The eggs of the Common Mormon are laid singly on the young stem, the petiole or the underside of leaves of the host plant. The egg is pale creamy yellow with a finely roughened surface. It is nearly spherical with a diameter of about 1.2mm.


A mother Common Mormon about to oviposit on a lime plant.


Two views of an egg of Common Mormon, diameter: 1.2mm


Two views of a mature egg, giving a faint front view of the head of the caterpillar.

The egg takes about 3 days to mature. The young caterpillar eats its way out of the mature egg, and then proceeds to finish up the rest of the egg shell. The newly hatched has a rather spiky appearance, and an initial body length of about 3mm. It is yellowish brown dorsally and dark brown laterally.


Two views of a newly hatched 1st instar caterpillar, length: 3mm.


Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, length: 3.6mm

In the first 4 instars, the Common Mormon caterpillars resemble bird droppings as they rest on the leaves. The resemblance in the 3rd and 4th instars are stronger with the body also assuming a slimy appearance. As the 1st instar caterpillar grows up to a length of about 5-6mm, the dorsal and dorso-lateral  whitish patch at the posterior segments become more prominent. There is a faint whitish saddle on the 3rd-4th abdominal segments. After about 3 days in 1st instar, the caterpillar moults to the next instar.


Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 4.8mm

The 2nd instar caterpillar has a similar appearance to the late 1st instar caterpillar except for the more distinctly white markings on the middle and posterior body segments, and traces of white on anterior segments. This instar lasts 2-3 days with the body length reaching about 10mm before the next moult.


Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, newly moulted, length: 5.2mm


Two views of  a 2nd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 9.5mm.

The newly moulted 3rd instar caterpillar bears no drastic change in physical appearance except for more dark brown to black patches appearing on the mottled body, and the more prominent white saddle mark. This instar takes about 2.5-3 days to complete with the body length reaching up to 16mm.


Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 12.5mm.


Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 16mm.

The 4th instar caterpillar resembles the late 3rd instar caterpillar initially but with a more slimy appearance and stronger green undertone. As growth proceeds, the cryptic markings of light to dark green intermingled with white streaks becomes increasing mottled. This instar lasts about 2-3 days with body length reaching about 25-26mm.


A 3rd (left) and  a 4th (right)  instar caterpillar found on a Lime plant in a garden.


Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 21mm.


Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 26mm

The next moult brings the caterpillar to its 5th and final instar with a drastic change in appearance.  After the moult to 5th instar, the body ground color is initially mottled green, but this changes gradually to the characteristic smooth green color after 1 day.


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


Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar,  length: 36mm

The eye spots on the 3rd thoracic segment are connected by a transverse green dorsal band with sinuous markings. A similar band occurs between the 3rd thoracic and the 1st abdominal segments, and features pale purplish bluish gaps between the sinuous markings. The first oblique bars, one on each side, run from the base of abdominal segment 3 to the top of segment 4. The second oblique bars is much shorter and occur at the two sides of abdominal segment 5.


Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 45mm

As in the case of all Swallowtail butterflies, the Common Mormon caterpillars in all instars possess a fleshy organ called osmeterium in the prothoracic segment. Usually hidden, the osmeterium can be everted to emit a foul-smelling secretion when the caterpillar is threatened.


A Common Mormon caterpillar everting its osmeterium.

The 5th instar lasts for 5-6 days, and the body length reaches up to 45-46mm. Toward the end of this instar, the body gradually shortens in length. Eventually the caterpillar comes to rest on the lower surface of a stem and becomes a pre-pupatory larva.

A pre-pupatory larva of the Common Mormon.

A Common Mormon caterpillar molts to its pupal stage.

A Common Mormon caterpillar turning into a pupa.

Pupation takes place a day later. The pupa suspends itself with a silk girdle from the stem. There are two color forms. In the green form, the pupa is is mainly green with a large yellowish diamond-shaped on the dorsum of the abdominal segments..  In the brown form, the pupa is manly greyish to darker shades of brown. Each pupa has a pair of  cephalic horns, a dorsal thoracic hump and is angled in side view. Length of pupae: 31-32mm.


Two views of a Common Mormon pupa.


A mature pupa of the Common Mormon.

After 8   days of development, the pupa turns black as the development within the pupal case comes to an end. The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the pupal case. The beautiful undersides of its wings are fully displayed as it dries its wings for the first few hours after eclosion.


A Common Mormon emerging from its chrysalis.

A newly eclosed female Common Mormon clinging on to its empty pupal case

A newly eclosed male Common Mormon resting near its empty pupal case

References:

• [C&P4] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society.
• Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Edition, 2012.
• A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew S.K., Ink On Paper Communications, 2010.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Benjamin Yam, James Chia, Benedict Tay,  Ellen Tan, Nelson Ong,  Bobby Mun, Anthony Wong, Federick Ho, Sunny Chir and Horace Tan

Butterfly of the Month - October 2011

Butterfly of the Month - October 2011
The Apefly (Spalgis epius epius)

And here we are, halfway into the tenth month of 2011.  October is one of the long months of the year, with 31 days.  China celebrates its National Day, with extended long holidays and celebrations.  The country's development pace has been amazing, over the past two decades, and on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse to rival the traditional leaders of the western nations.  Even as the US and Europe struggle with their domestic financial woes, China and Asia grow from strength to strength.

A large part of October also belongs to the Librans - those born under the horoscope of the sign of the scales.  Placed as one of the air signs, Librans tend to be more compatible with those born under Gemini and Aquarius.

 

On Oct 5, the world lost a visionary, a tech genius and a pioneer - perhaps one of the foremost— in the field of business, innovation, and product design, and a man who had profoundly changed the face of the modern world - Steve Jobs.  The man who gave us the Mac, Apple, iPod, iPhone and iPad - devices that changed the way people communicated and revolutionalised the IT world and our lifestyle. 

The birthstone for October is the opal.  It is an amorphous form of silica, of which 3% to 21% its total weight is water.  The stone comes in a very wide range of colours, ranging from milky white to blues, greens and reds.  The opal is Australia's national stone, and from where nearly 97% of the world's supply of the stone comes. 

October's child is born for woe,
And life's vicissitudes must know,

But lay an opal on her breast,
And hope will lull those woes to rest.
- Gregorian Birthstone Poems

This month, we feature the diminutive Miletinae species, the Apefly (Spalgis epius epius).  This butterfly has a curious name, for the adult of the Apefly bears no simian resemblance whatsoever.  The common English name, however, probably comes from the pupa's resemblance to the face of an ape!  (Can you see the face of an ape in the photo of the pupa below?)

Copyright : Virenvaz via Wikipedia

The Apefly belongs to the family Lycaenidae, subfamily Miletinae, which is known by its collective name of the Harvesters.  The caterpillars of this subfamily are 'carnivorous' and feed on a variety of Homoptera like aphids, coccids and mealy bugs.  (See earlier blog article on Mergers, Partnerships & Betrayals)

The Apefly has dark brown wings above and unmarked, except for a whitish discal patch, which is larger in the female. The underside is grayish buff, with numbers dark striations with a clearly defined brown-edged white spot at the cell end of the forewing. It has yellow-green eyes and long pointed palpi. Males have more pointed forewings than the females.

An amusing face shot of the Apefly showing its green eyes

It has a stronger flight than many of the other species in the subfamily, and on occasion, persistently returns to a few favoured perches despite being disturbed. 

At times, it flies erratically non-stop for long periods of time without stopping, a behaviour that is often observed in the other species of the Miletinae. 



















The Apefly has red banded legs, and from field observations, although it has six fully-developed legs to stand on, it often perches with only four legs, preferring to fold up its front legs tightly against its body.  But there are definitely instances when all six legs are extended as it perches.

The antennae are short, robust and stubby, with a distinctly strong orange tip at the clubbed end.  The palpi are long and sharp and gives a distinct look to the Apefly.

And so, let's enjoy the remainder of the 10th month of 2011 with an interesting read about the diminutive and interesting Apefly, a species that is moderately common in Singapore, and that an observant naturalist is likely to encounter from time to time in the field. 

Text bt Khew SK ; Photos by James Chia, Khew SK, Loke PF, Nelson Ong, Tan CP, Tan BJ, Mark Wong & Benjamin Yam

Life History of the Aberrant Oakblue

Life History of the Aberrant Oakblue (Arhopala abseus abseus)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Arhopala Biosduval 1832
Species: abseus Hewitson 1862
Subspecies: abseus Hewitson 1862
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 28-30mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Hopea pachycarpa (Dipterocarpaceae), Hopea odorata (Dipterocarpaceae).





Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
The Aberrant Oakblue differs from other Arhopala spp. in having a short tail at the end of vein 3 of the hindwing, and a very short vein 9 in the forewing. Both features suggest that Aberrant Oakblue is more closely related to the Flos spp. than its placement in the Arhopala genus would otherwise suggest. Above, the male is deep violet blue with a dark forewing border expanding towards the apex (where it is about 4.0mm wide); the female is shining blue with broader borders. Below, the wings bear cryptic markings with most spots in blackish brown. Pristine specimens carry a strong purplish sheen in the discal area on the hindwing and white shadings in the forewing's apical and subapical areas. Most specimens feature a moderately large white spot at the mid-costal margin of the hindwing. Also on the hindwings, short white-tipped tails are found at the end of veins 1b and 3, and a moderately long white-tipped tail at the end of vein 2. The compound eyes are dark yellow brown.





Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
In Singapore, the Aberrant Oakblue is not considered rare and adults can be found in the shaded forested areas within the nature reserves, Southern Ridges, Singapore Botanical Gardens and other wooded areas scattered across the island. They have a strong quick flight and are easily spooked by "overzealous" photographers. They typically rest in the shade among the foliage with upright wings.


Local host plant #1: Hopea pachycarpa.


Local host plant #2: Hopea odorata.

Early Stages:
Thus far it has been established that Hopea pachycarpa and H. odorata are utilized as larval food plants by the Aberrant Oakblue locally. Both plants are in the Dipterocarpaceae family, members of which are commonly utilized by butterfly species in the Arhopala and Flos genera. There are two other yet-to-be identified host plants in the local catchment reserves, both of which are likely to belong to this plant families as well. The early stages of the Aberrant Oakblue feed on the young tender leaves of the host plants, and often lives in the company of attending ants.


Two eggs of the Aberrant Oakblue.

Eggs are laid singly or in small groups of 2-5 on a young shoot or the underside of a leaf of the host plant. Each egg is about 0.8mm in diameter, white with a very light yellowish green tinge. It is shaped like a pressed bun with a slightly depressed micropylar area atop. The surface has a finely reticulated pattern of intersecting ridges and there are short sharp spikes at the intersections of these ridges.

Two empty egg shells of the Aberrant Oakblue.

It takes about 3 days for the egg to hatch. The newly hatched is pale yellowish in body color and has a length of about 1.3mm. It has a rather flattened woodlouse appearance with a large semicircular prothorax, a round anal plate, a yellowish brown head and long dorso-lateral and lateral setae. There are also a fair number of very short setae on the body surface. The newly hatched does not bother to devour the rest of the egg shell after its emergence.

Two views of a newly hatched caterpillar, length: 1.3mm.


Two views of 1st instar caterpillar, length: 1.9mm.

The 1st instar caterpillar feeds by skimming the surface of a young leaf, but later instars are able to consume the lamina in whole. Larval stages of the Aberrant Oakblue are gregarious and a few caterpillars have been observed in the field sharing a leaf shelter and adjacent feeding site with no animosity towards each other. As the 1st instar caterpillar grows, its body color becomes more yellowish green. A faint pinky red patch appears on the posterior abdominal segments. After about 2 days of growth, and reaching a length of about 2.5mm, the caterpillar moults to the next instar.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 2.2mm.

The 2nd instar caterpillar features long lateral hairs and a yellowish brown head. Long dorso-lateral setae are no longer present, but many very short setae appear on the entire body surface. A pair of faint dorso-lateral line runs along the length of the body. The prothorax is marked by a large yellowish brown patch. The dorsal nectary organ (DNO) is already visible on the 7th abdominal segment and highlighted with a small dark reddish patch stretching to the 8th segment. A rather large anal plate, black in color, dominates the remaining posterior segments. The pair of the tentacular organs (TOs) on the 8th abdominal segments are also distinguishable at this stage.


Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, newly moulted, length: 2.5mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, dormant prior to its next moult, length: 3.2mm.

The 2nd instar caterpillar has a functional DNO as ants living in its proximity are observed to actively attend to the young caterpillars, having been attracted to the nectary fluid excreted via the DNO. The ant-caterpillar association continues for all remaining larval stages of the Aberrant Oakblue. The 2nd instar caterpillar reaches a length of about 4mm, and after about 2-3 days in this stage, it moults again.

A late 2nd instar caterpillar (right) and a newly moulted 3rd instar caterpillar (left) of the Aberrant Oakblue.

The 3rd instar caterpillar resembles the 2nd instar caterpillar closely. New to this instar is a very large black prothoracic shield and a slightly smaller black anal plate. The DNO is now rather prominent with an dark brown oval ring marking its outer boundary. Faint dorsal and dorso-lateral bands are apparent at this stage too. The 3rd instar takes about 3 days to complete with the body length reaching about 6.5mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, newly moulted, length: 4mm.


Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, length: 4.9mm.

The 4th instar caterpillar has similar markings as the 3rd instar. One notable change is in the prothoracic dark patch which now has two small white patches embedded at its posterior, and one small white patch at its anterior edge. The dorsal and dorso-lateral bands are now more pronounced than in the previous instar. This penultimate istar takes about 4-5 days to complete with the body length reaching 10mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 7.3mm.


Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, dormant prior to its moult, length: 9.5mm.

The 5th instar caterpillar has similar but more striking markings. Visible changes are 1) a white intermittent line running down the middle of the dark patch on the prothorax; 2) both the dark patch on the prothorax and the anal plate are now flanked by white borders. Another change is in the dark patch stretching from the DNO to the anal plate where there are two side-arms reaching and encircling the TOs on the 8th abdominal segment.


Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 12mm.


Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, later in this stage, length: 17mm.

The 5th instar lasts for about 8-9 days and in the last three days of this period, the body of the caterpillar decolorises to a creamy white shade. It continues feeding in this form until the end of the instar.


Two late 5th instar caterpillar in white form, length: 18mm.

After reaching a length of about 18mm, the caterpillar slows down and stops food intake for about 1 day. During this time, its body length gradually shortened. Soon it becomes an immobile pre-pupa in its leaf shelter.

Two views of a pre-pupa of the Aberrant Oakblue in its shallow leaf shelter.

The pre-pupa caterpillar prepares for pupation by spinning a silk girdle and a silk pad to which it attaches via claspers at its posterior segments. After 1-1.5 day as a immobile pre-pupa, pupation takes place. The pupa, with a length of 11-12mm, has a shape typical of any Lycaenid species, but with a somewhat produced anal segment. It is creamy white in coloration. A small reddish-brown slit, likely the remnant of the DNO, has been found to exude fluid droplets for the first few days of the pupal period. This attracts the ants to attend to the pupa, thus securing some degree of protection from predators or parasitoids.

An Aberrant Oakblue caterpillar molts to become a pupa.

Two views of a pupa of the Aberrant Oakblue, length: 12mm.
.
A sequence showing two caterpillars in various stages of pupation in adjacent sites on the same leaf.
Seven to eight days later, the pupa matures enough to show the shining blue patch on the forewing upperside. The next day, the pupal stage comes to an end with the emergence of the adult butterfly.

Two views of and instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 2.5mm.

A newly eclosed Aberrant Oakblue drying its wings near its empty pupal case.

Unlike most of the Lycaenidae species, the caterpillars of the Aberrant Oakblue have the habit of constructing leaf shelters in which they rest and seek safety between feeds on the lamina of nearby leaves and part of the shelter. Pupation also takes place within a leaf shelter.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar of the Aberrant Oakblue receiving the attention of an ant.


A leaf shelter found in the field. Partly opened in the right panel to show the 5th instar caterpillar and attending ants.
Can you spot the caterpillar?

References:

• [C&P4] 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 Koh Cher Hern, Nelson Ong, Loke PF and Horace Tan