Uncommon now though once a common roadside butterfly, it is not frequently encountered and are sometimes seen visiting flowers of the Snake Weed and cassia along roadsides fringing villages and farmland. This is decidedly an insect of the open country and grassland, in Raub that would likely be open road sides with patches of grassland and flowering bushes close to human activites (farming). The form alcippoides (Moore) is the likely form to be encountered in this part of the country, having the hindwings almost flushed white. Use of herbicide to control roadside, parks and wasteland weeds had greatly contributed to its decline and that of other once common open country butterflies in Raub.
Habitat indicator
RSP
|
WV
|
PG
|
VF
|
FTR
|
SC
|
LWDF
|
LWPF
|
LMEF
|
UMN
|
MN
|
x
|
x
|
Frequency observation chart: (S marks the usual occurences, H marks an unusually high occurence, F for first record)
2013
|
2014
| ||||||||||
Nov
|
Dec
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mac
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
| S10 | S10 | S10 | |||||||||
2014
|
2015
| ||||||||||||
Nov
|
Dec
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mac
|
Apr
|
May
|
June
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
S10
|
S10
| ||||||||||||
2016
|
|||||||||||
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mac
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
S6
|
S6
|
||||||||||
2017
|
|||||||||||
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mac
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
S6S10
|
|||||||||||
Above 2 photos 30 Jan 2014 @ 10:49.
10:53
10:53
Above 3 photos @ 10:57
Above photos 05 Dec 2014 @ 10:36
* * * * *
A worn female came and deposited some eggs on my Caloptris seedling...
Above pictures 07 Jan 2017
The ribbed egg is laid on the leaf surface of its host plant, The Giant Milkweed, Calotropis gigantea in batches or singly.
a 3rd instar caterpillar
5th instar (final instar)
Sometimes too many batches of eggs are alid on a single host plant causing the caterpillars to strip the host plant bare of leaves.
the caterpillar finds a place to rest and starts to pupate
The same batch of caterpillars can produce pink or green pupas.
A jade green pupa. 07 Jan 2017
The day before eclosion, the pupa will turn transparent, showing the shapes of the butterfly insect.
A few hours later, they become even more detailed and the colour of the wings will show through. 07 Jan 2017
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