Doleschallia bisaltide ?bisalitide var.
Autumn Leaf
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Subfamily: | Nymphalinae |
Genus | Doleschallia |
Species: | bisaltide |
Subspecies: | ?bisalitide |
Common Name: | Autumn Leaf |
Life History: | complete |
Extant in countries: | •Singapore |
Hostplants: |
Description
This particular form of the Autumn Leaf was recently discovered in Singapore. Over the past few years, it has successfully established its presence across multiple habitats. In his 2006 revision to C&P4 (The Butterflies of the Malay Pensula), Col. J.N. Eliot tentatively assigned the subspecies name of '?bisaltide var.' to it. The characteristic subapical white spots are usually not present (at least not all the 5 spots) in the subspecies pratipa and siamensis, both found in Malaysia. This discovery is therefore not likely to have come down from the north. A hypothesis is that the species could have `island-hopped' from Java and managed to breed on the very commonly found host plant, Asystasia gangetica, which is found all over the island as a wild weed.
Habitat & Habits
To be detailed.
Other Observations
To be detailed.
Early Stages
Refer to the ButterflyCircle's blog article - The Life History of the Autumn Leaf.
Further Reading
Journal paper: Updating The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula, J.N. Eliot, Malayan Nature Journal, 59(1), p.1-49, 2006.