Revision to the Common Names of Butterflies

A Revision to the Common Names of Butterflies
Part 1 : Changes Due to Socially Unacceptable Reasons


A pair of mating Niggers (!!)

After the excitement and fanfare of our most recent butterfly book, featuring butterflies from the South East Asian countries of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand died down, I managed to find some time to read the book in greater detail. Also, remembering some of the principles elaborated by Dr Kirton at his talk during the launch, I went about analysing some of the background behind the English Common name updates in the book.

Dr Laurence Kirton speaks at his book launch in Singapore

At Dr Kirton's talk, he outlined the basic rationale behind what caused him to change some of the more widely used English common names in the region. Whether these name changes would cause further confusion amongst the butterfly enthusiasts or not, or will become standard usage in time to come, would depend on the general acceptance amongst the stakeholders.

As English common names are certainly not within the exclusive domain of scientists, taxonomists or academics, these names can be coined by practically anyone who has more than a fleeting interest in butterflies. Naming conventions and fundamental rationale can sometimes be illogical and often defy common comprehension. Some names appear logical and obvious - dependent on the physical attributes of the butterfly species concerned, whilst others have dubious associations at best, or even appear questionable.

A Lesser Darkie perches on a leaf

Through common usage, some of these names have spread across the region amongst butterfly enthusiasts - some have stuck through their popularity, whilst others vary depending on the country of origin, and the 'authorities' who have named them. It is often confusing, when a particular species carries different English names in different countries. I will not go into the Chinese common names in this article, though I was told that in certain cases, a single species can have up to 6 or 7 Chinese common names across the Chinese-speaking countries!

© Dr Laurence Kirton, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM)

Dr Kirton outlined the following basic principles that he adopted in his latest book, which determined whether he made changes (or not) to the English common names of butterflies in the region :

1. Where the original name is socially unacceptable / derogatory
2. Where the name has incorrect syntax or grammar
3. Where the original name refers to a people group
4. Where the same name is used for different species
5. Where multiple names are used for the same species
6. Where different regions use different names

He went on to clarify that "Common names usually follow as closely as possible to WA Evans' (1927) "The Identification of Indian Butterflies" : Bombay Natural History Society, Madras 302 pp.

Whilst most of us would not have any issue with the principles above, the devil would be in the details and the rationale for the continued adoption of the 'common usage' names or not, would have to be evaluated and discussed from various alternative perspectives and points of view.

For a start, I will discuss the name change for four species of butterflies which I would deem as necessary. The rationale behind the name change would be that the original names in today's politically-sensitive environment, would fall under the category of being "socially unacceptable and/or derogatory". I had, some years back, written a piece on a butterfly that was unfortunate enough to be called a Nigger. Perhaps in an era when life was more simple and straightforward, such names would not offend anyone, but today, such a name would be considered derogatory to certain ethnic groups, and deemed unacceptable.

© Dr Laurence Kirton, FRIM

In Dr Kirton's detailed explanations during his talk about the Nigger made a lot of sense. We support the new name coined for the species Orsotriaena medus cinerea and it will henceforth be called Dark Grass Brown. Other names suggested earlier, either already in print or on the internet are :

• "Blackie" - by Kazuhisa Otsuka in Butterflies of Borneo and South East Asia, 2001
• "Jungle Brown" - by Smith, 1989
• "Dusky Bush Brown" and "Smooth Eyed Bush Brown" by Braby 1997 and 2010
• "Medus Bush Brown" - by Kunte et al, 2014

Three other species found in Singapore, also having names which are considered derogatory and have been changed in Dr Kirton's book, belong to the Miletinae subfamily. The earlier innocuous names are now considered ethnic slurs - labels used used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or to refer to them in a derogatory (critical or disrespectful), pejorative (disapproving or contemptuous), or insulting manner in the English-speaking world.

From Darkie to Darlie - the evolution of a name and logo of a popular toothpaste brand in Asia

The first of the common names is "Darkie". In the list of ethnic slurs, the word "darkie" refers to a black person (similar to Nigger) and is highly likely to cause offense to certain ethnic groups. In the consumer product world, a toothpaste company, Hawley & Hazel, used to market a popular brand of toothpaste called "Darkie". The brand well-known in Asia and Australasia, was subsequently rebranded as "Darlie" some time in 1989 to avoid the politically-incorrect and potentially derogatory reference to Afro-Americans.

Lesser Darkie will now be called Lesser Darkwing

In our butterfly world, there is a species known as the Lesser Darkie (Allotinus unicolor unicolor). The English common name is a bit of a mystery, as the butterfly neither black or has any features that suggest the name. Dr Kirton has renamed this species as the Lesser Darkwing. It is a name that avoids the controversy of an ethnic slur and appears to be safe for use without offending anyone. So Lesser Darkwing it will be!

Bigg's Brownie will now be called Bigg's Brownwing

A third generic common name, which also has ethnically derogatory connotations, particular in common usage in the United States, is the "Brownie". Whilst less well-known than Nigger and Darkie, the word Brownie is generally used as a derogatory slur to refer to a :
a. (US) a person of mixed white and black ancestry; a mulatto.
b. (US) a young, brown-skinned person 1940s–1950s.
c. (US) derogatory name to refer to brown Mexican people.


Blue Brownwing, underside and (inset) upperside of the wings

There was even a recent article that highlights the use of the word "Brownie" (in a non-complimentary way) to refer to US President Barack Obama! Hence, the avoidance of the potentially controversial word "Brownie" is timely and should be removed from our butterflies' names as well.  Having said that, however, I wonder when someone will change the name of my favourite chocolate "brownie" dessert! But that is certainly another debate for another forum.


Blue Brownie will now be called Blue Brownwing

In Singapore, we have the Blue Brownie (Miletus symethus petronius) and the Bigg's Brownie (Miletus biggsii biggsii). Along the same logical lines of naming the Darkwings, Dr Kirton also suggests a name change from Brownie to Brownwing.  So Miletus symethus will now be called Blue Brownwing, whilst Miletus biggsii will be renamed as Bigg's Brownwing.


Bigg's Brownie will now be called Bigg's Brownwing

In summary, these are the four species relevant to the Singapore butterfly fauna that ButterflyCircle will be making changes to - from Nigger to Dark Grass Brown; from Lesser Darkie to Lesser Darkwing; from Blue Brownie to Blue Brownwing and from Bigg's Brownie to Bigg's Brownwing.  We accept these changes due to the rationale that Dr Kirton has articulated in his presentation, and we see no reason to disagree with the reasons behind the change.  However, there is still room for debate, and the changes to the English common names, like the regular taxonomic revisions to species' scientific names, will probably not be cast in stone!


Blue Brownie will now be called Blue Brownwing

Whilst our hardcopy Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore 2010 has used these original names and no amendments can be made at this point in time, any future editions will make these changes accordingly. Our online collaterals will make the changes henceforth. All the four species' names fall under the collective category of "socially unacceptable" or "derogatory" in terms of negative ethnic slurs.



We will evaluate other name changes as proposed by Dr Kirton in our forthcoming blog articles, where various ButterflyCircle members have given their opinions which may not necessarily concur with Dr Kirton's proposed name changes. These will be dealt with eventually, and discussions will be made regarding our opinions which offer contrarian and alternative viewpoints to those raised by Dr Kirton.


Farewell Nigger, Hello Dark Grass Brown!

In the meantime, we will take our time to digest and try to understand the backgrounds behind some of these name changes and we will not rush to make any hasty changes. Some of these original names have sentimental, emotional, historical or even nationalistic (!) connotations, and even if the names are changed, it may take a long time before they become widely accepted for daily usage amongst butterfly enthusiasts.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF,  Tan BJ, Benedict Tay & Mark Wong

References : 

• List of Ethnic Slurs - Source - Wikipedia
• List of Ethnic Slurs by Ethnicity - Source : FileSharingTalk
• A Naturalist's Guide to the Butterflies of P. Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand, Laurence G Kirton : John Beaufoy Publishing 2014
• [C&P1] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 1st Edition, Kyle & Palmer, 1934.
  

Butterflies Galore! : Lesser Darkie

Butterflies Galore! 
The Lesser Darkie (Allotinus unicolor unicolor)

This relatively plain looking butterfly belongs to the subfamily Miletinae, whose caterpillars are known to be "carnivorous" in the butterfly world. These butterflies' caterpillars feed on other insects like mealy bugs, coccids, aphids and even ant larvae. The Lesser Darkie is the only reliably identified species of the genus Allotinus in Singapore. Butterfly-watching enthusiasts are encouraged to look out for the other similar-looking species and hopefully record some re-discoveries of the other species that have been known to exist here in Singapore before.

The Lesser Darkie is a dull brown above. The underside is greyish with brown-grey speckles and spots on both wings. The hindwing has a dentate appearance. The butterfly flutters weakly in the shady forest understorey, sometimes for long periods of time without stopping to rest. This shot of a Lesser Darkie was taken by ButterflyCircle member Koh CH at the end of 2013.

Mergers, Partnerships & Betrayals

Mergers, Partnerships and Betrayals
The Miletinae - The Harvesters


A multi-tasking pair of Bigg's Brownie (Miletus biggsii biggsii) - mating & feeding amongst their protector ants

In the real corporate world, the title of this blog would probably not elicit much interest and excitement, other than offering a good read about yet another unfortunate company being swallowed up, or employees being thrust into a chasm of anxiety about their future.

A Bigg's Brownie (Miletus biggsii biggsii) feeding off what appears to be a "herd" of mealy bugs that are tended by their protector ants

In the world of Lepidoptera, however, the partnership between butterfly and ants is already a well-studied topic by entomologists. Myrmecophily, or the positive interspecies association between ants and butterflies (or rather, their caterpillars) has been widely studied. This symbiotic association occurs with some Lycaenidae caterpillars evolving specialised organs that exude honeydew in return for protection by the ants. These caterpillars then go about their daily business of feeding on the leaves of their host plants, whilst enjoying 'armed' guards' protection from predators.

However, there exists a subfamily within the Lycaenidae family - the Miletinae, that is unique in the sense that their caterpillars are predatory or "carnivorous" in the butterfly world. Whilst it is generally well-known that most caterpillars are "herbivorous" and generally feed on leaves, buds and flowers of plants, the Miletinae (or commonly referred to as the Harvesters) species' caterpillars feed on a variety of Homoptera like aphids, coccids, mealy bugs and one species even feeds on ants' larvae!

In Singapore, the Miletinae is represented by five genera - Allotinus, Logania, Spalgis, Miletus and Liphyra. Other than Liphyra, the other genera have caterpillars that feed mainly on a variety of Homoptera.

The aphids, coccids and mealy bugs, which form the principal diet of the caterpillars of the four genera mentioned, tend to feed on young shoots of various plants. These insects have adapted piercing mouth parts that pierce and suck the sap of plants - usually soft-stemmed ones. The Homoptera must suck large amounts of sap from the plant to get their nutrients. Much of the sap is a sugary fluid that cannot be digested. This extra liquid is passed through their body and excreted as "honeydew." Ants and other insects "farm" the Homoptera and collect honeydew for their own food. In return for their food, ants will protect the Homoptera that provide their colony with a food source.

In the field, observations have been made of the Miletinae adults feeding off the secretions of the aphids, mealy bugs and coccids. The butterflies do this brazenly, without any fear of being attacked, in the presence of the protective ants that are also 'milking' the aphids or mealy bugs of their honeydew.

Walking gingerly in a minefield of ants!

Besides feeding off the honeydew, the Miletinae also lay their eggs where the aphids and mealy bugs are present, and the caterpillars of these species feed on the aphids and mealy bug community.

A Pale Mottle (Logania marmorata damis) amidst mealy bugs and their "farmers"

It is interesting to note that the ants neither extract honeydew from, nor tend to the caterpillars in this case. They go about their business of tending to the aphids or mealy bugs, but leave the caterpillars alone - despite the caterpillars devouring their "herd"! Why then, don't the normally ferocious ants attack and kill the predatory caterpillars?

Miletinae caterpillars amongst their "sheep" which provides food as they grow

Researchers have postulated that the caterpillars (and even adult butterflies) have some kind of chemo-mimicry that render themselves 'invisible' to the ants. In other words, as far as the ants are concerned, the Miletinae adults and caterpillars are perceived as just another ant in the colony.

Hello? Are you my brother? An ant checks out a Lesser Darkie (Allotinus unicolor unicolor).

Therefore, although the caterpillars and adult butterflies of the Miletinae derive 'protection' from the ants, they give nothing back in return. On top of that, the adult butterflies partake of the honeydew that are secreted by the aphids and mealy bugs, and their caterpillars feed on the ants' source of food. Hence the "betrayal" part of the whole situation, where the ants have been hoodwinked into a win-lose relationship with the Miletinae.

A Lesser Darkie feeds on honeydew produced by some aphids that are tended by their farmer ants

An even more extreme situation occurs with the Moth Butterfly (Liphyra brassolis abbreviata). The caterpillar of this species feeds on the larvae of the Weaver Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina). It is interesting to note that the caterpillar feeds and grows inside the nest of the ants, and has evolved a clever way to escape the wrath of the ants when it ecloses. Our earlier blog article describes the Moth Butterfly.

A newly-eclosed Moth Butterfly (Liphyra brassolis abbreviata) whose caterpillar feeds on ant grub

This unique characteristic of the sub-family Miletinae in the butterfly world is amazing, and runs contrary to the conventional belief that all caterpillars are herbivorous and feed only on plant material. The adult butterflies of the five genera of the Miletinae found in Singapore are therefore very widespread, having little dependence on the location of host plants, as their "host" food is actually other living insects! Hence wherever there is a colony of aphids, coccids or mealy bugs, the adult butterflies of this sub-family will seek them out, for food for themselves as well as their young.

An Apefly (Spalgis epius epius) one of the Miletenae whose caterpillars also feed on Homoptera

So do look out for these butterflies and special behaviour when you are out in the field!

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Sunny Chir, James Foong, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Horace Tan & Tan Tze Siong

Butterfly of the Month - December 2015

Butterfly of the Month - December 2015
The Lesser Darkwing (Allotinus unicolor unicolor)

It's the final month of the year 2015 as we feature our last Butterfly of the Month in this series that has been going on for the past eight years! We started way back in December 2007 with our first feature butterfly, the Malay Lacewing. So eight years and 97 butterflies later, we now showcase our 98th butterfly of the month for December 2015.

Note the extra long abdomen of the Lesser Darkwing

The monsoon season has begun a few weeks back, clearing our dreaded haze, and making our air safe to breathe again. The haze and the rainy season seems to have taken a severe toll on our butterfly population. There seems to be fewer butterflies out and about, particularly the forest-dependent species. Urban parks and gardens are still quite active with the common species visiting the flowering bushes, but numbers are generally much lower than previous years.

With NParks starting the biodiversity monitoring programme in collaboration with the nature community in Singapore, there will at least be a regular documentation of butterfly population in the coming years. The biodiversity surveys are done with the help of citizen science programmes and in collaboration with the public. This has the added benefit of getting a larger number of Singaporeans and the resident population more involved in nature conservation and community projects.

A pristine individual with a very distinct dentate hindwing

With more active community groups like the Seletar Country Club Butterfly garden group (under Mr Foo JL), the Tampines-Changkat Butterflygarden Interest Group, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Butterfly Garden group and others, the nature conservation message is being effectively spread in the community and importantly, to the younger generation. This is encouraging, as there are now more butterfly enthusiasts working to conserve our butterfly diversity for future generations to enjoy.

NParks is also getting in the act, with programmes like BioBlitz and the biannual Butterfly Count across urban parks in Singapore. A Species-Recovery project is also being organised to make another attempt to save the Harlequin butterfly's habitat and help to conserve this species in Singapore. JTC is also being roped in to help with the conservation programme and this will take place in 2016.

Coming back to our Butterfly of the Month for December 2015, we feature a small-sized species from the subfamily Miletinae from the Lycaenidae family. The Miletinae is often referred to as the "Harvesters", probably due to their behaviour of predating on Homoptera like aphids, coccids, mealy bugs and even ant larvae! In my earlier article on this blog, entitled Mergers, Partnerships and Betrayals, the behaviour and feeding habits of the Miletinae are discussed.

A Lesser Darkwing rests amongst some grasses

We introduce our Butterfly of the Month, the Lesser Darkwing. The original name given for this butterfly was Lesser Darkie. However, due to racial sensitivities, the name of this butterfly was amended to Lesser Darkwing. This new common name was first suggested by Dr Laurence Kirton in his 2014 book, Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. We concur with the proposed name change, and have adopted it in the 2nd Edition of Butterflies of Singapore.

The Lesser Darkwing is a small butterfly, usually fluttering for long periods of time amongst bushes in the shade. The butterfly is usually looking for Homoptera and ant colonies that are tending to these Homoptera. Hence the distribution of this species is widespread, depending on plant species that are infested with aphids, coccids, membracids and mealy bugs.

A Lesser Darkwing perches on four of its six legs with the forelegs folded against its thorax

The Lesser Darkwing is dark brown on the upperside and unmarked, except for a short light greyish brand at vein 4 of the forewing in the male. The female has a more rounded forewing and is of a warmer reddish brown above. The hindwing margins are dentate, often more prominent in pristine individuals.

The ground colour of the underside is a greyish white and is highly variable, with a series of dark brown spots and light striations on both wings. The eyes of the Lesser Darkwing are yellowish-green. Despite having three fully developed pairs of legs, the butterfly prefers to fold its forelegs against its thorax, and use only two pairs of legs to support itself when at rest.

An ant checks out a Lesser Darkwing but not harming it

The species has a weak restless flight and prefers shaded forested areas where it flutters amongst the shrubbery. At times, it stops to rest with its wings folded upright, and if undisturbed, can stay in that position for long periods of time. It is curious to note that the Lesser Darkwing is quite comfortable in the presence of ants and strangely, the ants do not attack the butterfly.

And so we end the year 2015 with a inconspicuous and modest butterfly. A new year is just round the corner, and we will be doing our usual year-end review at the end of the month whilst looking ahead to a new and hopefully more butterfly-ful year in 2016!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Chng CK, Khew SK, Koh CH and Loke PF.

Revision to the Common Names of Butterflies 2

A Revision to the Common Names of Butterflies
Part 2 : An Analysis of Name Changes

We had earlier discussed the changes to the common names of butterflies in Part 1 of this series, where we agreed with Dr Kirton's changes due to "socially unacceptable reasons". In that article we featured butterflies with names like Nigger, Darkie or Brownie, which carried ethnic slurs that would be politically incorrect in today's social context.

Nigger no more...

In Part 2 of our discussion on the changes to the common names of butterflies, we take a look at some of the name changes and in some cases, offer an alternative perspective to these changes. In the study of zoology, and in particular, Lepidoptera, scientists often divide the world into eight specific faunistic zones, often referred to as ecozones. An ecozone is the broadest biogeographic division of the Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms.



The eight ecozones are, (based on World Wildlife Fund definition) the Palearctic, Nearctic, Afrotropic, Neotropic, Indo-Malaya, Australasia, Oceania and Antarctic.  The Indo-Malayan region, which is the area of interest as far as butterflies of Malaysia and Singapore are concerned, comprises South Asia covering India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and southern China, the Malay Peninsula and Singapore, the Large Sunda islands (Sumatra, Borneo and Java), the Philippine Islands, Sulawesi and Lesser Sunda Islands as far east as Timor.

Sundaland map

The zoogeographical subregion of the Indo-Malayan ecozone, known as the Sundanian Subregion (or often called Sundaland) comprises the Malay Peninsula (including Singapore), Sumatra, Borneo, Java and their satellite islands, and Palawan in the Philippines. It is largely the Sundaland subregion which we are concerned with, pertaining to the butterfly fauna of this region, and from which we base our literature reviews of books published about the butterflies in these countries.

Left : Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula 1st Edition (1934)  Right : The Identification of Indian Butterflies (1927)

Whilst there is no doubt that one of the first published literature which coined English common names for butterflies was already available for butterflies in the Indian subcontinent, e.g. "The Identification of Indian Butterflies by W.A. Evans in 1927, we also take into account that the earliest reference to the butterflies in Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore is "The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula" by A.S. Corbet & H.M. Pendlebury in 1934.


Left : Common Malayan Butterflies (1960)  Right : Malaysian Butterflies - An Introduction (1983)

In the 60's and 80's, two more reference books, targeted for the amateur butterfly enthusiasts were published. The use of English common names (or trivial names) was more evident in these two references. These were "Common Malayan Butterflies" (CMB) by R. Morrell (in 1960) and "Malaysian Butterflies - An Introduction" (MBAI) by Prof Yong Hoi-Sen (in 1983). In the meantime, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions of "The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula" were printed in 1956, 1978 and 1992 respectively.



It is with the background of these references, that we base our discussions and opinions on the English common names of butterflies in Malaysia and Singapore, and any revisions or publications that come thereafter, on butterflies of the Sundaland subregion.



In the review of the English common names suggested in Dr Kirton's latest book "A Naturalist's Guide to the Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand" (BPMST) we will start with a discussion on the species that are found in Singapore first. Future discussions will dwell on the species beyond Singapore's shores.



Dealing with the names by the butterfly families, we first take a look at the genus Graphium. In particular, the species Graphium evemon eventus. Based on our literature research on the early references, the name "Lesser Jay" was first used by Evans in his 1927 book. Other early authors declined to give a common name to this species. In the 90's the name "Blue Jay" was coined for the Singapore butterfly fauna, and through regular usage over the years, the name stuck.



Text excerpt from Evans book "Identification of Indian Butterflies" 1927

ButterflyCircle's "Butterflies of Singapore" (BOS) launched in 2010, the name Blue Jay was also adopted for Graphium evemon eventus. Many online references also used Blue Jay. To be consistent with the names used in the Indo-Malayan ecozone, the common name Lesser Jay should be adopted for this species henceforth.

Recommendation : Graphium evemon eventus should be referred to as the Lesser Jay.



The next species in the list is Ypthima horsfieldii humei. This species was given the common name the Malayan Five Ring by Pisuth Ek-Amnuay in his book, Butterflies of Thailand 1st Edition (BOT1) in 2006. The same name was also used in BOS. None of the early references by Evans nor C&P had a common name for this species.



In BMPST, Dr Kirton used the name Horsfield's Five Ring for this species. We do not see the rationale nor necessity to change the name, as the name does not appear to be used for any other species nor is confusing. The closely related species, Ypthima baldus newboldi is called the Common Five Ring, which causes no ambiguity with Ypthima horsfieldii humei.

Recommendation : Ypthima horsfieldi humei should retain its name Malayan Five Ring.



We move on to the subfamily Danainae and start with the Euploea or commonly referred to as the "Crows".  The first proposed change in BPMST was Euploea phaenareta castlenaui. The English common name is the Great Crow. This name was first coined by Evans for the species Euploea corus corus. This species was later revised to E. phaenareta, hence the reference to the Great Crow.



Closer to home, BOT1 and BOT2 also refers to E. phaenareta as the Great Crow. Through regular usage in Singapore, the English common name for this species is the King Crow, and is used in BOS as well as many online checklists. Again, for consistency and due to the taxonomic changes to the species' latin name, we acknowledge that E. phaenareta should be changed to Great Crow.

Recommendation : Euploea phaenareta castelnaui should be known as the Great Crow.



© Dr Laurence G Kirton : Explanation for the rationale of name revision for Striped Black Crow

The next species for discussion is Euploea eyndhovii gardineri. Evans gave the name Striped Black Crow for E. doubledayi. Dr Kirton explains that there was a split in the two species to E. doubledayi and E. eyndhovii and proposed that Striped Black Crow is retained for E. doubledayi and Lesser Striped Black Crow for E. eyndhovii. BOT2 also uses Lesser Striped Black Crow for E. eyndhovii but calls E. doubledayi the Greater Striped Black Crow. In his book, (MBAI), Prof Yong Hoi-Sen calls E. doubledayi the Larger Striped Black Crow.



It appears to be logical to retain the original name of Striped Black Crow for E. doubledayi and adopt the new name of Lesser Striped Black Crow for E. eyndhovii. Hence we support Dr Kirton's proposed change for the smaller species that flies in the southern parts of Malaysia and Singapore. In practice, however, the four-word name for this species may be a mouthful and butterfly enthusiasts may continue to use Striped Black Crow for this species this is more common, compared to its cousin up north.

Recommendation : Euploea eyndhovii gardineri should be called the Lesser Striped Black Crow.



The next species in the Danainae sub-family belongs to the Tigers. In BPMST, Dr Kirton calls Danaus melanippus hegesippus the White Tiger. This was also the name given to the species Danaus melanippus indicus by Evans. In Borneo, there is a subspecies Danaus melanippus thoe which is completely black and white. In recent years, various Indian butterfly groups have begun to call their subspecies the Indian White Tiger.



Recent local references, CMB (Morrell), BMAI (Yong HS), BOS (KhewSK) and even Kazuhisa Otsuka's Butterflies of Borneo and South East Asia all refer to Danaus melanippus as Black Veined Tiger. Over regular usage in the past six decades, the species has come to be referred to as the Black Veined Tiger in Malaysia and Singapore. As the descriptor "white tiger" may be a misnomer for this species, we propose that the English common name Black Veined Tiger be retained for this species.

Recommendation : Danaus melanippus hegesippus should retain its name Black Veined Tiger.



The next species of interest is the large black and white butterfly, Idea stolli logani. The current local English common name is the Common Tree Nymph. It is interesting to note that Evans coined several names for the subspecies of Hestia (now known as Idea) lynceus, ranging from Malabar Tree Nymph, Ceylon Tree Nymph, Kanara Tree Nymph, Tavoy Tree Nymph and so on. It may be confusing, as it would appear that it would be quite exceptional to have English common names for so many subspecies of I. lynceus when the physical differences between two or more subspecies may not be very apparent.


Multiple subspecies and multiple English Common Names for a single species - Idea lynceus



Subsequently in C&P1, Hestia lynceus reinwardti was called the Tree Nymph. This was repeated by Prof Yong in MBAI. In CMB, Morrell referred to Idea jasonia logani as the Common Tree Nymph. The revised scientific name for Idea jasonia logani is Idea stolli logani. Hence we continued the name coined by Morrell in 1960 for this species - Common Tree Nymph.


Tree Nymph (Idea lynceus). Note heavier shading on the wings

In BPMST, Dr Kirton adopted the name Ashy-White Tree Nymph for Idea stolli logani. It would appear that this 'newly invented' name originated from BOT1 by Pisuth. The descriptor "ashy-white" would normally refer to something that is greyish in colour (ash), and does not appear to be appropriate for Idea stolli which certainly appears much whiter than Idea lynceus. If anything, this name could be more suited to Idea lynceus. But it is already called the Tree Nymph. Hence we propose that the name Common Tree Nymph continues to be adopted for Idea stolli logani.

Recommendation : Idea stolli logani should retain its name Common Tree Nymph.



The final species of Part 2 of this series on English Common Names is the related Idea leuconoe chersonesia. In Evan's book, he called this the Siam Tree Nymph - largely due to the subspecies Idea leuconoe siamensis. The common name for this subspecies name is also used in BOT2 by Pisuth. There are many other common names coined for this species, ranging from Paper Kite, Rice Paper, White Tree Nymph, Large Tree Nymph and others. In BOS, we used the name Mangrove Tree Nymph for this species.



There are many subspecies of I. leuconoe and certain subspecies are easily bred as display species in many butterfly parks all over the world. In particular, the subspecies from Taiwan, ssp clara appears to be the one that is abundant in butterfly parks. However, the subspecies that occurs as a native species in Malaysia and Singapore (including the Indonesia islands close to Singapore) is ssp chersonesia. Morrell in CMB and Corbet in C&P4 both describe this subspecies as "a seashore species and frequents mangrove areas" and "confined to mangrove swamps". In BPMST, Dr Kirton refers to Idea leuconoe as Large Tree Nymph. It would be more definitive and appropriate to refer to Idea leuconoe chersonesia as the Mangrove Tree Nymph to better describe its association with mangrove habitats in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Recommendation : Idea leuconoe chersonesia should retain its common name as the Mangrove Tree Nymph.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Goh LC, Khew SK, Loke PF, Simon Sng and Anthony Wong

References :

[BPMST] A Naturalist's Guide to the Butterflies of P. Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand, Laurence G Kirton : John Beaufoy Publishing 2014
[C&P1] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 1st Edition, Kyle & Palmer, 1934.
[C&P4] The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Revised by Col John Eliot, Malaysian Nature Society, 1992
[BOT1] Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 1st Edition, Amarin Printing & Publishing, 2006
[BOT2] Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 1st Edition, Amarin Printing & Publishing, 2012
[CMB] Common Malayan Butterflies, R. Morrell, Longmans Malaysia, 1960
[MBAI] Malaysian Butterflies - An Introduction, Yong Hoi-Sen, Tropical Press, Malaysia, 1983
[BOS] Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew SK, Ink On Paper Publishing, Singapore, 2010
[BBSEA] Butterflies of Borneo & South East Asia, Kazuhisa Otsuka, Hornbill Books, Malaysia, 2001
[IIB] Identification of Indian Butterflies, W.A. Evans, Diocesan Press, India, 1927