Revision to the Common Names of Butterflies 7

A Revision to the Common Names of Butterflies
Part 7 : An Analysis and Discussion of Name Changes


What am I?  Silver Spotted Lancer or Chequered Lancer? 

This is the final part of this series, where we continue our discussion on some recent name changes/updates in the book, Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand by Dr Laurence Kirton. It is noted that many of the name "updates" were common names that reverted to the original common names found in Evans' "The Identification of Indian Butterflies" published by the Bombay Natural History Society in 1927. Back then, this reference was probably the most comprehensive work available in the butterfly world.

Dr Kirton's 2014 work. He proposed a number of common name changes in this book

Today, even scientific names have been updated and changed, with contemporary research, newly found information and technological advancements in taxonomic work. Some species that were not described yet in 1927 are constantly added on, as scientists and taxonomists continue to discover new information that conclusively distinguishes a species new to science.

Grandfather of butterfly references : 
Left : Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula by Corbet and Pendlebury 1st Edition, 1934
Right : Identification of India Butterflies by WH Evans, 1927

Along the way, as more and more enthusiasts, hobbyists and citizen scientists produce more compelling evidence, more and more species/subspecies are added to checklists all around the world. At the same time, common names are coined in different countries - some new, some adaptations and permutations of species and subspecies names by hobbyists, amateur naturalists and butterfly watchers across the region.

Butterflies of Thailand by Pisuth Ek-Amnuay 2nd Edition, 2012

Today, with the exponential proliferation of websites, blogs and social media groups, the use of common names is even more widespread, as the more well-visited sites in cyberspace gaining more influence amongst the users. Would regular use of common names in cyberspace outpace printed material? Like news portals and the way information is processed and disseminated across the world, it would appear that digital media is getting higher traffic and exposure in the usage of common names of butterflies.

Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula by Corbet and Pendlebury 4th Edition, 1992

Fortunately, the scientific taxonomic domain is still "safe" for now, where the latin names used to described species - new or otherwise, are more stable across geographies. Common English names, however, continue to vary across the countries, where a species may have different common names in different countries, or two different species may share the same common name.

A puddling Orange Awlet

In this last article discussing some of the changes in the Hesperiidae group, some thoughts about the names of particular species are shared and discussed. Let's start with the first genus, Burara (previously lumped under Hasora, and even further back, Ismene). The Orange Striped Awlet (formerly known as Ismene harisa harisa) back in Evans' time, is now called Burara harisa consobrina.

This is one species that has multiple confusion in its common names. This species is referred to as "Orange Awlet" in Malaysia (C&P1 through 4), India (BOI), Singapore (BOS1. BOS2) and Thailand (BOT2), with the Thai book naming it "Common Orange Awlet".  The original name Orange Striped Awlet by Evans has now been more regularly used for another species, Burara jaina, in Butterflies of India, Butterflies of Thailand and several other online websites.

In the general scheme of such naming, it may be futile to revert to Evans' original name. Hence it may be "safer" to retain the name "Orange Awlet" for Burara harisa across the region, as many references and through common usage, the name has received greater acceptance - even as far back as 1934 when Corbet and Pendlebury already used this name for Burara harisa in their Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula 1st Edition. Paul van Gasse, in his 2013 "Butterflies of India : Annotated Checklist" also used Orange Awlet for Burara harisa as well.


Excerpt from Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula by Corbet and Pendlebury, 1st Edition, 1934

Recommendation : Burara harisa should be named Orange Awlet and the original name by Evans, Striped Orange Awlet be reserved for the species Burara jaina.

Hieroglyphic Flat or Polygon Flat?

The next species of interest, the unique Odina hieroglyphica ortina, carried the name "Polygon Flat" in Evans' book. In Dr Kirton's book, he used this name for this species. Prior to this, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay in his 2006 Butterflies of Thailand 1st Edition, used Hieroglyphic Flat to name this species. Subsequently Butterflies of Singapore 1st Edition (2010) and 2nd Edition (2015) and Butterflies of Thailand 2nd Edition (2012) continued the use of Hieroglyphic Flat for Odina hieroglyphica.

Many Indian references used Evans' name for this species - Polygon Flat. This is where there may be some confusion with regard to the name of this species. A quick search on Google and other search engines did not turn up many sites referring to this species as "Polygon Flat". Whilst the jury may be out on this butterfly's common name, at least 4 hardcopy references in Singapore and Thailand have already commonly used the name Hieroglyphic Flat for this species - perhaps a convenient association to its scientific name hieroglyphica.

Recommendation : Whilst the original name Polygon Flat is still used in some literature for the species Odina hieroglyphica, it appears that the more commonly used name of Hieroglyphic Flat, particularly in Southeast Asian references, will carry on and may become the preferred common name for this species.

An Ultra Snow Flat feeding on the flowers of the Pagoda Plant

The next "flat" to be renamed by Dr Kirton is Tagiades ultra. This species did not exist during Evans' era and hence there was no common name associated with it. Dr Kirton suggested the name "Burmese Snow Flat" for this species. A name search online does not turn up any other references to this new name coined for this species.

Southeast Asian and Indian references like BOT1, BOT2, BOS1, BOS2 and Paul van Gasse's checklist consistently refer to the species Tagiades ultra as the "Ultra Snow Flat". Here again, the association with the species' scientific name ultra probably gave some logic to its eventual English common name. For a species which has no prior reference back in 1927, it is not likely that "Burmese Snow Flat" in a single publication will take priority over Ultra Snow Flat.

Recommendation : The species Tagiades ultra should be named Ultra Snow Flat.

Am I a Starry Bob?

The next species, Iambrix stellifer was referred to as the Malay Chestnut Bob in Evans and Paul van Gasse's checklist for the Indian region. Pisuth (BOT1, BOT2) also refers to the same species as Malay Chestnut Bob, probably taking reference from the Indian literature. Dr Kirton uses the name Malayan Chestnut Bob, consistent with his stand that butterflies should not be named after an ethnic group.

Thus far, only the Singapore butterfly enthusiasts use the name "Starry Bob" for this species. The background of the name is unclear, and I cannot recall how this name came to be associated with this species. Hence the original name of Malay Chestnut Bob should be retained for the species Iambrix stellifer since the majority of published literature and web resources refer to it as such.

Recommendation : The species Iambrix stellifer should revert to its original common name Malay Chestnut Bob to keep in synch with the name used in the Indian and Southeast Asian references. The regular usage of Starry Bob may continue for some time to come, although this species is not common and would limit usage in general.

The genus Plastingia is represented by two species - naga and pellonia in the region. Again, there does not appear to be any consensus on the English common name across the various published literature. Evans refers to P. naga as the Silver Spotted Lancer, a name which Dr Kirton reverted to. Indian references use the same name. In Thailand, it is Silver Spot Lancer. In Singapore, it is referred to as Chequered Lancer.

The other species has an even wider variety in its common name. It is called Straw Spotted Lancer by Evans (in his time, the species was known as tessellata with pellonia as a synonym). Most Indian references and the Thai reference calls it the Yellow Lancer. Dr Kirton calls it the Saffron-spotted Lancer. A recent Indian publication by Isaac Kehimkar refers to it as the Yellow Chequered Lancer, the same name that it is called in Singapore.

Straw Spotted Lancer, Yellow Lancer, Saffron-Spotted Lancer or Yellow Chequered Lancer?  You choose! 

And there you have it, four different common names for a single species! Whilst there is unlikely to be any consensus on the names across different countries, the preferred name will probably be a result of regular usage in cyberspace, moving forward. There is probably no "right" name this point in time.

Recommendation : The two species "pair", Plastingia naga and Plastingia pellonia have a series of different common names across the region. In Singapore, we will more likely retain the paired names of Chequered Lancer (for P. naga) and Yellow Chequered Lancer (for P. pellonia) for simplicity.

Should I be called Besta Palm Dart or Chinese Palm Dart?

At this juncture, I will conclude this series of discussions, even as we strive to rationalise some of the English common names across different geographies. Whilst the experts will advocate the use of scientific names to avoid any confusion, it is unlikely that amateurs and hobbyists will, anytime soon, use solely taxonomic names. The use of common names will probably encourage hobbyists and amateurs to pick up butterfly watching and then progress to the more accurate scientific names in due course.

Palm Dart or Bright Orange Palm Dart?

There are more species that have different common names across different references, depending on the origin of the country/author. And the discussion is limited to English common names only. If we include Chinese, Thai or Indian common names, the subject becomes even more complex!

Giant Skipper or Chinese Banana Skipper?

Of course, the ideal solution will be to get every single butterfly watcher, enthusiast, photographer and expert alike to use only proper scientific names. But that is probably a futile task, as would we, as comparison, expect every bird watcher, enthusiast, photographer and ornithologist to call out Pycnonotus goiavier each time they spot a Yellow Vented Bulbul?


Spotted Grass Dart or Malayan Grass Dart?

And so I end this series of discussions that was prompted by the book "Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand" published by Dr Kirton, and for which several name changes were made in the book that were different from those in common use. The debate will continue, and it is unlikely that there will be any resolution. So let us continue to enjoy our winged jewels in harmony, irrespective of the common names that we are familiar with, in our respective countries.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by May Chan, James Chia, Sunny Chir, Chng CK, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Nelson Ong, Nona Ooi, Tan BJ and Horace Tan

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
[BOS1] Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew SK, Ink On Paper Publishing, Singapore, 2010
[BOS2] Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew SK, Ink On Paper Publishing, Singapore, 2015
[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
[BOIAC] Butterflies of India : An Annotated Checklist by Paul van Gasse, 2013
[BOI] Butterflies of India, Isaac Kehimkar, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, 2016

Life History of the Hieroglyphic Flat

Life History of the Hieroglyphic Flat (Odina hieroglyphica ortina)


Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Odina Mabille, 1891
Species: hieroglyphica Butler, 1780Sub species: ortina Evans, 1941
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 32mm
Caterpillar Host Plants: Erycibe tomentosa (Convolvulaceae)

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
Male is yellow-orange, with yellow-orange markings framed by thick black lines on both wings. Female is paler yellow. The underside markings are similar in pattern but paler. The abdomen of the butterfly is stripped in orange and black. The Hieroglyphic Flat is a very distinctive-looking skipper, with the cryptic patterns reminiscent of the camouflage paint of a German Messerschmitt fighter plane in World War II.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
This species is rarely encountered in Singapore. Over the last few years, it has been sighted in a dozen times in various areas in the Central Catchment Area, Southern Ridges and in an abandoned farm land in the west. It is a fast-flyer and can only be observed when the adults stop to feed on flowers and bird dropping, or when the females are carrying out oviposition routines of leaf hopping. When resting, as with other "flat" skippers, the adults have the habit of perching on leaf undersides.


The Hieroglyphic Flat feeding on bird dropping on a board walk (left),
and taking nectar in an open wasteland (right).

Early Stages: The host plant, Erycibe tomentosa, is a woody climber, and locally can be found on hedges, edges of forests and sides of forest trails, in areas such as the Central Catchment Area and Southern Ridges. On one occasion, Sunny Chir, an active Buttercircle member, chanced upon a female laying eggs on the host plant at the edge of the nature reserve, close to a row of private houses.


Host plant : Erycibe tomentosa

The eggs are laid singly at the leaf tip of a young leaf or mid-age leaf. Each egg is white and almost spherical with vertical ridges, and has a diameter of 0.8mm. As with other "flat" (such as the Chestnut Angle) skippers, the mother rubs the tip of her abdomen over the freshly laid egg, resulting in the egg being concealed in a mess of fine brown hairs.


Two views of the hairy eggs of the Hieroglyphic Flat.


Empty egg shell of the Hieroglyphic Flat.

It takes 3 days for the 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. It body is yellowish orange with a transverse black line right behind a black bilobed head. After leaving the egg shell, the 1st instar caterpillar makes its way to the leaf edge to construct its first leaf shelter. It rests within the shelter and ventures out to eat the leaf surface nearby. The intake of this diet gives the caterpillar a greenish undertone.


1st instar caterpillar, length: 2mm

A view of the leaves of the host plant, showing the location of an
empty egg shell, and small leaf shelter for the 1st instar caterpillar.

As with some other skipper species, the Hieroglyphic Flat caterpillars have been observed to ballistically eject their somewhat sticky faecal pellets (frass) at speed. In a home breeding environment, this also results in a splatter of frass on the inner side of the container wall next to the leaf shelter.
After 3 days in 1st instar and reaching a length of about 4mm, the caterpillar moults to the next instar within the shelter. It still has the same light yellowish body with a green undertone, but now numerous tiny whitish speckles become apparent. It reaches a length of about 6mm after 5 days of growth in this instar.

2nd instar caterpillar, 4mm


2nd Instar caterpillar, 6mm.


A 2nd Instar caterpillar almost done with the cut of the leaf blade in the construction of its leaf shelter.

The 3rd instar caterpillar has a similar appearance as in the previous instar. The 3rd instar lasts about 3-4 days with the body length reaches 10-11mm. The leaf shelters for the larger caterpillars in 3rd and later instars are made from bringing two edges of the leaf together with sinuous cuts and silk threads, resulting in a ``curry puff'' appearance.

3rd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 7mm


3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 10mm
The 4th instar caterpillar looks similar to the earlier instars with the only visible difference being the much more distinctive speckle pattern on its body, and two rows of small black spots dorsally on the first seven abdominal segments, with two spots to each body segment. The 4th instar takes about 4 to 6 days to complete with the body length reaching 17-18mm.


4th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 10mm


4th instar caterpillar, ready to moult to the next stage, length: 15mm.

The head capsule of the final and 5th instar caterpillar has a brown or dark brown base color with pale brown to orange patches. The surface of the head capsule is covered with a layer of short fine hairs. Growth in this stage is rather slow and it takes about 14-15 days to complete with the body length reaching about 24mm.
5th instar caterpillar, newly moulted to this stage, 15mm


5th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 24mm

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

Two views of a pre-pupatory larva of the Hieroglyphic Flat.

Pupation takes place within the leaf shelter. The pupa secures itself with its cremaster attached to a short transverse band on the leaf surface, and has a silk girdle. The pupa is mostly green in base colour. It has a short thorax, a rather long abdomen and a pointed rostrum. Length of pupae: 16-18mm.


Two views of a fresh pupa of the Hieroglyphic Flat.

After 9 days, the pupa becomes mostly black in color with the cryptic patterns on the forewing somewhat distinguishable through the now transparent pupal skin. Eclosion takes place the next day.


Two views of a mature pupa of Hieroglyphic Flat.


A newly eclosed Hieroglyphic Flat.

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 Pres 1999

Text and Photos by Horace Tan

Butterfly of the Month - February 2014

Butterfly of the Month - February 2014
The Hieroglyphic Flat (Odina hieroglyphica ortina)

February 2014 heralded the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac calendar. Unlike last year, when it was uncharacteristically wet for February, this year's weather was quite typical of the dry season, as the North East Monsoon winds waned and the rains that we experienced in the last few months of December 2013 suddenly dried up. Despite the cool north-easterly winds bringing temperatures to a low in early 2014, the exceptionally dry weather began to take its toll on the plants and greenery all around the island. Even in the forests, the leaf litter was particularly brittle and dry whilst the trees and shrubbery appeared limp and listless.

The National Environment Agency warned of imminent haze and poor air quality as the number of hotspots in neighbouring Indonesia increased alarmingly. Typical of the way the Indonesian farmers clear their agriculture land, it has been almost a yearly affair that the wanton burning of forests to clear land for farming will send plumes of choking smoke over to Malaysia and Singapore. The Indonesian authorities appear almost powerless to stop this pollution and environmental abuse as fires burn uncontrollably in their country.

I always wonder how much more of this can Mother Nature take, before she unleashes her wrath at those people who insist on destroying nature around them - solely for monetary gain and little else. We share this planet with the flora and fauna around us, and humans, being the most intelligent of all the creatures that inhabit our Earth, is by far also the greatest destroyers and consumers of our natural resources.

Over here in Singapore, the first two months of the year saw a curious number of unprecedented breakdowns in the MRT system. Some were reported to be due to "human error" and is some cause for concern, as the system has been running for so many years with very few breakdowns in the early years of the system, only to see "human errors" creeping into the operations? There appears to be some systemic issues that the SMRT needs to get a handle on these days before things get any worse.

A number of high profile fatal accidents at construction sites also plagued the industry. Usually, upon investigations, the conclusion is often that the accident could have been avoided, or prevented. Are contractors throwing caution to the wind as far as safety is concerned, for the sake of economic returns? Or is the pressure of ever-tighter deadlines and schedules forcing the workers to take short cuts just to speed up the work? Are developers imposing unrealistic deadlines on their projects, so that they can start getting returns on their investments?  Whatever the reasons are, when a worker dies at the site, someone, somewhere else in the world has lost a son, a father or a husband. Let us remind ourselves that it is not just a statistic on a piece of paper.

This month, we feature a Hesperiidae, commonly called Skippers from the subfamily Pyrginae, which are collectively called "Flats".  This subfamily features species that are robust-bodied, fast-flying butterflies that tend to stop with their wings opened flat, even when feeding or sunbathing. February's Butterfly of the Month is the Hieroglyphic Flat (Odina hieroglyphical ortina).  

Skippers are usually drab, brown coloured butterflies with large eyes and fat bodies. To the uninitiated, they are usually mistaken for moths. However, there are exceptions to these often unappreciated butterflies like the Hieroglyphic Flat, which are relatively more colourful and eye-catching. Over in South America, the Hesperiids are even more spectacular - with iridescent blues and long tails!

The male Hieroglyphic Flat has yellow-orange patches framed by thick black lines on both wings. Females are paler yellow and appear more faded in colour than the male. The underside markings are similar to the upperside, but often paler in colour. The abdomen is striped with black. There are obscure arrow-shaped marginal markings on the upperside of the forewings near the apical area.

This skipper is quite distinctive-looking and cannot be mistaken for any other butterfly species in Malaysia or Singapore. The cryptic patterns are reminiscent of the camouflage paintwork of a German Messerschmitt ME Bf 109 fighter plane in Hitler's desert campaign during World War II. I've often been asked what an ME Bf 109 with desert camouflage looks like, so here it is! Can you see the resemblance? But whether the Hieroglyphic Flat's colours provide it with any form of camouflage in our forests is debatable.

The Hieroglyphic Flat is a fast flyer and in some locations, two or more individuals are sometimes observed dog-fighting at the tree tops, vying for the best perch to sunbathe themselves. A common trait with most of the "Flat" species is that they will fly around rapidly, then perch on the undersides of leaves with their wings opened flat to rest or hide from intruders.

In the forests, the species is often observed puddling on bird droppings. It will repeatedly return to the bird dropping even when disturbed, and then feed greedily, giving a good opportunity to photograph it. It has occasionally been seen puddling at sandy streambanks and footpaths in the forests as well. The Hieroglyphic Flat has a wide distribution and can be seen at urban parks and gardens as well as in the forested nature reserves.

The early stages of this skipper has been recorded and documented here. The caterpillar host plant is Erycibe tomentosa, which is a woody climber and can locally be found on hedges, edges of forests and sides of forest trails, in areas such as the Central Catchment Area and Southern Ridges.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Chng CK, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Nelson Ong & Horace Tan