Commander
30-Sep-2006, 10:58 PM
Thanks to the sharp-eyed members here, and a good dose of fortune from the butterfly-fairy, :) we've added three more species to the Singapore Butterfly Checklist (http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/2382/sgchecklist.htm). The species count now stands at 276. :redbounce What's more, with the discovery of the Tawny Coster by Rey, there is now one more sub-family in the Checklist - Acraeinae.
The two other species added to the Singapore Checklist are :
White Royal (Pratapa deva relata) - re-discovered by Richard Ong
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) - discovered by HoraceSome notes taken from C&P4 :
Subfamily Acraeinae - "The butterflies of this subfamily are characterised by a perfectly flat hindwing and by having the cells of both wings closed by tubular veins. Their behaviour is sluggish, and, like the Danainae, they have a leathery body and are tenacious of life. They frequently exhibit Mullerian mimicry and serve as models for Batesian mimics from other families. The subfamily is strongly represented in the Ethiopian region, less so in the Neotropical Region, and is weakly represented in the Oriental and Australial Regions.
The egg resembles that of Danaini being much higher than wide and bearing rather ill-defined vertical ribs. The eggs are laid in clusters and the gregarious larvae are cylindrical and bear branched spines, termed scoli, on each segment. The host plants are commonly species of Passifloraceae." (pg 146 - C&P4)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
The history of V. cardui is Malaya is of considerable interest. Until recently, the only Malayan records referred to a specimen found on Penang Hill in 1886, :sweat: and a second example attributed to Singapore Island. The butterfly has a habit of returning repeatedly to the same spot when disturbed, but is is not easily caught. The larva is black with yellowish spines and markings. It feeds chiefly on Carduus (Thistle) in Europe, but Artemisia and Blumea (both Compositae) are among the host plants in the Oriental Region. (pg 161 - C&P4)
The two other species added to the Singapore Checklist are :
White Royal (Pratapa deva relata) - re-discovered by Richard Ong
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) - discovered by HoraceSome notes taken from C&P4 :
Subfamily Acraeinae - "The butterflies of this subfamily are characterised by a perfectly flat hindwing and by having the cells of both wings closed by tubular veins. Their behaviour is sluggish, and, like the Danainae, they have a leathery body and are tenacious of life. They frequently exhibit Mullerian mimicry and serve as models for Batesian mimics from other families. The subfamily is strongly represented in the Ethiopian region, less so in the Neotropical Region, and is weakly represented in the Oriental and Australial Regions.
The egg resembles that of Danaini being much higher than wide and bearing rather ill-defined vertical ribs. The eggs are laid in clusters and the gregarious larvae are cylindrical and bear branched spines, termed scoli, on each segment. The host plants are commonly species of Passifloraceae." (pg 146 - C&P4)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
The history of V. cardui is Malaya is of considerable interest. Until recently, the only Malayan records referred to a specimen found on Penang Hill in 1886, :sweat: and a second example attributed to Singapore Island. The butterfly has a habit of returning repeatedly to the same spot when disturbed, but is is not easily caught. The larva is black with yellowish spines and markings. It feeds chiefly on Carduus (Thistle) in Europe, but Artemisia and Blumea (both Compositae) are among the host plants in the Oriental Region. (pg 161 - C&P4)