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[Yano]

Yesterday, I shot a Ypthima at USR which looks like a Malayan Six-Ring (First photo).
While checking other Ypthima photos that I had taken last year, I have found a Four-Ring that does not look like the Common Four-Ring (Second and third photo).
Can it be a variation of a Malayan Five-Ring with its ocellus in space 5 disappeared?

Would you help me ID these butterflies?

Yano

[Psyche]

You certainly brings up some intriguing possibilies.

Pic 1 looks lke a 6-ring but a number of things are not right.
The eyespots are rather big & arranged in 2 main groups so that they are out of alignment. In the 6-ring the spots are all small & more or less in line.
The 2 black stripes on the hindwing should be continuous (not broken) straight (not curved) & quite broad.
I am inclined to believed this is a Malayan 5-ring with an & extra spot in space 4.
An upperside shot will help.

Pic 2 & 3 is probably a Malayan 5-ring missing a spot in space 5.
There is a possibility it is a new species Y. nebulosa.
In Y. nebulosa the black stripes on the hindwing are faint & the eyespot in space 3 is smaller than that in space 2 (as here).

TL Seow:cheers:
PS. C&P4 states in line 6, there is always an ocellus(eyespot) in space 5 for Y. baldus, horsfieldi & nebulosa.
In line 3 it states never an ocellus in space 5 for Y. huebneri & iarba..
Since this is obviously not Y. huebneri & the lower 3 spots are out of alignment it is possibly Y. iarba.

PS2. There is just too much similarity with Y. horsfieldi.
I have to say it is this species missing a spot.

[Yano]

Dear Seow,

Many thanks. It is very interesting.
"never an ocellus in space 5" is a very decisive expression (now I have the C&P 4), but can it really be so? This is the question you are raising and I have found another shot taken at the same location the same day.
It has a very small spot in space 5 almost at the verge of disappearing.
I think this photo supports your ID that the previous one was a horsfieldii missing the spot in space 5.

On the other hand, the second photo, also taken the same day, has a ocellus in space 5 which is larger than the ocellus in space 6. I had identified it as the Common 5-Ring but the underside ground color seems to be too bright.
Can this also be a horsfieldii?

Best regards,
Yano

[Commander]

Yano-san, you may want to read the two articles that I wrote some time back on our Blog.


Notes on the variability of the Common Four Ring (http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/2010/06/observation-notes-of-variability-of.html)
Lords of the Rings (http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/2011/10/lords-of-rings-singapores-ypthima.html)

[Psyche]

Ypthima baldus & Y. horsfieldii are sibling species with identical male genitalia.
In Singapore Y. baldus is quite variable in size & spacing of the eyespots in space 2 & 3.

Your 2nd pic should be Y. horsfieldii since the 2 spots in space 2 & 3 are rather small & space well apart.
C&P4 shows in pl17/28, an example where the spot in space 5 is bigger than that in space 6 (left side).

TL Seow:cheers:

[Yano]

Dear Seow and Khew,

Many thanks.
It certainly is difficult to identify with confidence some butterflies especially when the materials are photographs only.
However, it is a challenging and thrilling excercise and I do enjoy it with your help and guidances.
I think I would continue bothering you with more photos for IDs.

Regards,
Yano