Simi Yellow??

[Silverstreak]

Shot this guy on my "backyard", about half the size of a 3 spots GY , managed to temporarily restrained it and took a shot of its upper forewings before setting him free.

[Commander]

My opinion is that this is still a Common Grass Yellow which has either lost its cell spots, or in a way aberrant in that it has no cell spots. The problem with these Yellows is that they are so common and variable, that no two specimens are exactly alike. Add on wear and tear and also aberrations, there are always curious specimens that turn up every now and then. I've seen "no-spot" Grass Yellows and have recorded a few in my 'museum' but they are more likely aberrations of more common species.

Note in the ID key, there is one other species that has the black border in space 1a and 1b sloping towards the base - E. lacteola. But on checking again, this is unlikely to be it cos of the totally absent cell spot, as well as the details on the border in spaces 2 and 3.

[Commander]

Just to further elaborate on why certain species are really difficult to ID accurately from field shots, here are two shots of an actual specimen of Eurema ada iona from the Q-Museum.

This specimen was taken in Malaysia in the 90's. Check closely the characteristics and also C&P4's ID Key.

One of these days, I'll have to put the specimens side by side with the others so that the relative sizes can also be compared. The dimunitive size of this specimen is not apparent, unless a ruler is put to give some scale, or it is shot together with the other larger Grass Yellow specimens. This one is about 18mm wingspan.

For these lookalike species, a voucher specimen is almost critical for ID. On scientific accuracy, field shots are usually avoided. This was also the advice of the late Col John Eliot (of the C&P4 fame) and Dr Laurence Kirton, when asked to ID specimens.

[Silverstreak]

Khew ,

Thanks for adding your expert comments!

I was confused by the lack of cell spot and the sloping of the black border in space 1a and 1b sloping towards the base like the E. lacteola.

Guess we will have to accept that amongst the yellows there are lots of aberrations .

Thanks for the E ada iona shot ..... now we have something to base on.

[Commander]

You're welcome

Having more people observing and recording differences in specimens also helps me rationalise some of the conclusions that I've made in the past - and I'm not claiming that I am always right either.

It also makes me test and challenge some of my own theories as well. So I find it useful that people like you and Horace often turn up really challenging ID samples.

There are a few genuses that I would like to look at more closely, and if you guys are able to shoot more of these in the field, please do post and record them. Amongst these are of course the Hesperiidae like the Potanthus, Telicota and the brown buggers. Of course, without a voucher specimen, we would just go . Of the Lycaenidae would be the Arhopala, Miletus in particular.

One group which I have had a lot of trouble convincing myself on the IDs are the Mycalesis or Bush Browns. This is a very difficult group with lots of variations. Personally, I differ in my opinion of Steven Neo's conclusion of a specimen of Mycalesis perseoides perseoides that he IDed. However, we agreed to leave it in the checklist for the time being until we have more data to confirm.

So I'll need more help and field observations with these buggers mentioned above. Of course, our cat farmers have also helped in nailing down some of the IDs - which is another avenue to confirm the ID of some species - via their caterpillars and life histories.

[Silverstreak]

Part II of Simi Yellow?

another specimen just shot with same characteristics but this time with one cell spot.*headache*

[horace2264]

Interesting find. Really small specimen of grass yellow.
Is E. lacteola lacteola supposed to be as small as shown?

One way to confirm the number of cell spots would be to breed the butterflies.

Horace

[Commander]

The problem with these Grass Yellows is that one cell spot doesn't mean that another one didn't exist as well. Take a close look at Plate 10 Figure 6 which shows E. lacteola lacteola. Doesn't seem to match. Unfortunately, C&P4 only shows one specimen, and no undersides.

Interesting find. Really small specimen of grass yellow.
Is E. lacteola lacteola supposed to be as small as shown?

What made you conclude that this is E. lacteoloa? Would be interesting to share your views and observations.

One way to confirm the number of cell spots would be to breed the butterflies.

Yes, that is usually the best way of confirming what the species is, since from a bred specimen, you would have a pristine one, and you can eliminate the uncertainty of wear and tear.

[horace2264]

What made you conclude that this is E. lacteoloa? Would be interesting to share your views and observations.

Perhaps it was my poor phrasing of the sentence as I did not conclude the ID as E. lacteola, and was simply trying to gather more information on this other species.

Horace

[Commander]

Oh... when you mentioned "as shown", I thought that you meant what Sunny posted.