Euploea core

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Euploea core
Euploea core

Euploea core

Systematics
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Subfamily : Danainae
Tribe : Danaini
Genre : Euploea
Type : Euploea core
Scientific name
Euploea core
( Cramer , 1780)
Euploea core asela ♂ with turned out yellow tufts of hair on the abdomen. The elongated scented scented spot on the front wing is easy to see.

Euploea core sensu stricto is one of at least five allopatrisch occurring butterfly species of Super species Euploea core , ( butterfly ) which are separated in this case by the sea from each other. They wereconsideredtogether as the species Euploea core until the 1990sand the name continues to be used for the superspecies formed from these five species. The moths arewidespread and common in a wide variety of habitatsfrom South Asia to Australia . Due to the uptake of cardiac glycosides from food plants in the caterpillar stage, the caterpillars, pupae and black-brown moths can be slightly poisonous. As a result, they are somewhat protected from the typical predators from the vertebrate group such as birds , mice and lizards . The caterpillars feed on a variety of different plant species, especially Apocynaceae , silk plants (Asclepiadaceae) and mulberry plants (Moraceae).

features

Imago

Euploea core is a butterfly with shiny dark brown to black wings and a wingspan of seven to nine centimeters. The black body of the imago is speckled with white dots.

The upper side of the wing of Euploea core (see str.) Is dark brown and becomes lighter towards the outer edge, in the disk region . Two rows of white spots run along the outer edges. On the forewing, the inner row with the larger spots at the wing tip (apex) bends inward to the edge of the forewing. The outer row with the smaller spots is often patchy and often does not reach the apex. Often there is a small point at the front edge ( costa ) and only very rarely is a point in the apex of the cell and in the disk region. On the upper side of the hind wing, the spots of the inner row are elongated and those of the outer row are conical . The large white spots are often only separated by the dark wing veins and form a band. The underside is similar, the basic color is more even and the dots on the costa, in the cell and in the discal region are almost always present. The males differ from the females by an elongated scented scented spot in cell 2 on the upper side of the forewing.

The males have conspicuous yellow tufts of hair that can be turned out on the abdomen , the hairs sprout over almost the entire length of the tufts of hair. This is a typical feature of the genera Euploea , Anetia , Lycorea , Idea , Protoploea grouped under the clade Euploeina . In contrast, the other genera of the Danaini , which are grouped under the clade Danaina , sprout hairs only from the rear third of the tuft of hair. The female moths have a bright yellow genital opening ( ostium ) that mimics the tufts of hair.

Subspecies and forms

The spots of the inner row on the forewings of the form E. core f. vermiculata are larger and either square or heart-shaped. The transition from this form, which lives in the foothills and lower regions of the Himalayas , to the nominate form is fluid. E. core f. godarti , Lucas , 1853, is distributed from Manipur via Cachar to Burma and Indochina and has a purple apex on the forewing. In Burma, E. core f. layardi with a brown apex has on the fore wing. The intermediate forms with f. godarti are called f. defigurata .

The subspecies E. core asela is larger and differs from the nominate form by smaller spots in both rows on the forewings, which more or less disappear.

The subspecies E. core kalaona , restricted to Kalao , is black with only small white spots. Only at the apex are there two large spots reaching up to the wing veins. After the cell, three spots are only faintly indicated. The spots of the inner row are almost entirely absent on the hind wings. The scented scale spot is noticeably long and resembles that of Euploea algea .

E. core bauermanni is restricted to Salajar and is similar to E. core kalaona . The subspecies is smaller and the three spots after the cell are well developed.

Allopatric species

Euploea corinna

Euploea andamanensis is light brown and the small point on the costa, the point in the apex of the cell and the points in the disk region are clearly pronounced and large.

Euploea scherzeri is completely black. Only a few moths have a few small, white, irregularly arranged spots in the disk region on the underside of the wing.

Euploea corinna has conspicuous white spots in the tip of the forewing and the post-disk region of the forewings. On the undersides of the wings there are also small, irregularly arranged, white spots in the disk region .

The small subspecies Euploea charox renellensis differs from E. corinna in that it has more rounded wings and larger scented flakes . Only the inner row of submarginal spots is present on the upper side of the hind wing. These are significantly larger than in E. corinna and almost reach the anal angle. The submarginal spots on the forewings are also significantly larger and closer to the edge than in E. corinna . As a rule, the spots are larger in females than in males.

Similar species

The males of Euploea sylvester differ by two scented flakes in cell 1b and 2 on the forewings instead of just one. In the females, the shape of the fore wings is slightly different. Otherwise, the two species are similar in appearance.

The images from Bingham's The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma from 1905 show the upper sides of the wings of the males of Euploea core (s. Str.), Euploea core f. godarti (then Euploea godarti ) and Euploea sylvester coreta (then Euploea coreta ). One scented flake and especially in the case of Euploea sylvester the two long ones are recognizable on the inner edge of the forewings, as well as the great variability of the spot pattern within the species Euploea core .

  • Euploea core (see str.)

  • Euploea core f. godarti

  • Euploea sylvester coreta

mimicry

Euploea core is used by other butterfly species as a model for Batessche mimicry . The imitators want to benefit from the protection from predators that the slightly poisonous moths have.

  • Euploea core is the model for the female moths of Hypolimnas bolina in their western area of ​​distribution.
  • Chilasa clytia form clythia from the family of the knight butterfly mimics Euploea core in the western area of ​​distribution.

  • Chilasa clytia from Bingham (then Papilio clytia )

  • Mimicry of a Hypolimnas bolina female

egg

The light yellow eggs are relatively large, almost barrel-shaped, significantly higher than they are wide and have a round tip. The surface is structured by longitudinal and transverse ribs.

Caterpillar

The caterpillars are up to 6 centimeters long and have eight dark purple sensor-shaped fleshy appendages that sit in pairs on the mesothorax , metathorax and the second and eighth abdominal segments.

The older caterpillars of Euploea core (s. Str.) Are blue-violet and have the typical pattern of dark horizontal stripes with light edges on the back. The darker color becomes darker with each moult, the light color is creamy white to white. The ligaments dissolve on the sides and merge into a longitudinally directed band of the darker color, in which the trachea framed in black are clearly visible. Underneath this stripe there is a clearly defined cream-colored band. The legs and head capsule are black, with the latter additionally having white lines.

In Euploea corinna , the older caterpillars usually have an orange to brown basic color instead of a blue-violet one. As young caterpillars, they have a black head and the color of the body ranges from yellow to brown. Only in the north is a blue-violet form, which resembles the E. core caterpillars, often found in dry areas . Pale caterpillars with pastel-colored markings are rarely found.

The caterpillars of Euploea charox are light brown with black and white bands.

Doll

The tumble dolls of the Danainae subfamily are known for their shiny surface. The plump and softly rounded pupa from Euploea core is no exception and has a golden sheen, which is caused by interference on up to 250 evenly thin layers. The golden hue is caused by carotene ; The pupae of caterpillars that are bred without carotene have a silver sheen. The pupae of Euploea charox are sometimes silver-colored and have gray-brown markings in the wild.

The dolls are not attacked by enemies despite their striking appearance. On the one hand, the surroundings are reflected in the shiny surface, which can help camouflage. On the other hand, Bernard d'Abrera considers the shiny metallic doll in Sri Lanka to be very conspicuous and suspects that it is a warning color.

  • Euploea core egg on underside of leaf

  • Euploea core caterpillar

  • Prepuppet

  • Older doll with the typical gold sheen

distribution

Distribution of Euploea core . Areas of Euploea corinna that are not permanently populated are marked in light blue. The circled islands are the Andaman, Nicobar, Christmas Island, Kalao and Salajar, Biak, Rennell Islands and Norfolk Island (from left to right)

Euploea core (s. Str.) Is distributed from India , Sri Lanka , southern China via Indochina to Sumatra , Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands . Due to occurrence on Kalao ( E. core kalaona ) and Salajar ( E. core bauermanni ) the species reaches as far as the southern sea off Sulawesi . Euploea corinna instead of Euploea core could also occur on the Lesser Sunda Islands .

Euploea andamanensis is restricted to the Andamans and Euploea scherzeri to the Nicobar Islands to the south of it .

Euploea charox occurs on Biak and the Bismarck Archipelago . The subspecies Euploea charox renellensis occurs on Rennell and perhaps also on the neighboring island of Bellona , which belong to the Solomon Islands .

The distribution of Euploea corinna in Australia extends along the coast of Pilbara in northwestern Australia across the Northern Territory and along the entire east coast to Tasmania . The species is also found on Christmas Island, south of Java, and on Norfolk Island , east of Australia .

Euploea core does not appear to be found in Borneo , the Philippines , the Moluccas , Sulawesi and New Guinea .

The moth is described as common to very common in many regions. It is very common in India and Ceylon and is also often found in villages and towns on Ceylon. It is also very common in China and in Australia it is one of the most common butterflies and more common than all other species of the genus Euploea occurring there combined.

habitat

The moth lives in a wide variety of habitats, unlike most species of the genus, which are restricted to forests or large wooded areas. They range from forests and wooded watercourses to open landscapes and urban green spaces. The vertical distribution ranges from mangrove swamps at sea level to an altitude of 2500 meters in the northwestern Himalayas . In Australia, the moths also live in cool sand and limestone canyons inland and around natural springs, although they prefer the tropical and subtropical regions and coastlines. They cannot survive in hot and dry regions.

Way of life

Imago

Several Euploea cores suck on the ground

Euploea core flies close to the ground, only a few meters above the ground. He often sails on his seemingly low-energy flights. The moths are not bothered by humans, they even seem to like human company and are cultural followers in gardens. They often sit on flowers or they gather in damp places, roots and injured or dead parts of plants.

The males often turn out their tufts of hair in flight, even when there are no females nearby. Usually the tufts of hair, which are a characteristic of the subfamily of the Danainae, are used to attract females and are only everted near them in order to spread a sweet smell that is pleasant to humans. In the case of the genus Euploea , this behavior seems to have a territorial function.

It is known that many species of the Danainae subfamily are particularly attracted to the male moths by withered and injured parts of plants that contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids . If the leaf stalks are rotting or have just broken off, the animals suckle directly on the plants. In order to ingest the pyrrolizidine alkaloids with the proboscis from dry parts of the plant, the moths often vomit liquid onto the surface of the plants and then suck it up again. Sometimes they also scratch the plants. This behavior can also be applied Euploea core to Tournefortia argentea ( Boraginaceae (Boraginaceae)) and solstice ( Heliotropium indicum ) are observed, from the latter as many female as male moths are attracted. The males chemically convert the alkaloids into danaidone and similar pheromones , which are also found in their tufts of hair. The alkaloids make the moths of both sexes inedible, often they are already slightly poisonous due to the ingestion of poisons from the host plants.

The females lay their eggs in groups on the underside of young shoots in the upper area of ​​the food plants, where most of the young shoots and flowers are also located. Plants in a shady location are preferred, eggs previously laid by other moths have no influence on the egg-laying behavior. On oleanders, they prefer to lay their eggs on the underside of young shoots and flower petals, whereby the flower color has no influence on the egg-laying behavior. In the laboratory, milkweed plants (Asclepiadaceae), Apocynaceae, mulberry plants (Moraceae), oleanders and Parsonsia straminea were heavily overlaid with eggs, and sometimes even heavily deposited on the Asclepias genus unsuitable for caterpillars .

Active moths live for up to 13 weeks; hibernating moths in Queensland last 30 weeks.

Migratory behavior

Euploea core appears as a migrant butterfly in different regions of the world . The moths always gather in larger groups before they migrate together.

In southern India, the moths sometimes migrate to the humid primeval forests of the lowlands. During the midday heat, the moths sit in shady trees. With the onset of the northeast monsoon in Sri Lanka, E. core asela and Danaus hamata usher in the beginning of the butterflies' migration season.

In Australia, the migratory behavior of Euploea corinna is similar to that of the monarch butterfly . The moths migrate from the south to the north in winter and congregate at various locations on the coast between Brisbane and Townsville . The choice of places depends on the weather and nectar and water sources. The animals are sensitive to cold and heat and have to protect themselves from dehydration in places protected from the wind during this winter diapause . On some islands of the Great Barrier Reef , they are particularly common in sheltered depressions. It is believed that the formation of protein reserves plays a key role in the survival of the accumulations during the dry season in northern Australia, as they rarely take up food during the winter.

In Hong Kong, Euploea core and Euploea midamus overwinter in clusters together with individual butterflies of Ideopsis similis , Tirumala limniace , Parantica aglea and Danaus genutia .

Caterpillar

Euploea corinna caterpillar

The caterpillars of Euploea core often feed on poisonous plants and store these poisons, so that the butterflies are partly inedible and thus protected from predators . The uptake of the glycosides is much weaker than in the monarch butterfly belonging to the same tribe and the uptake of the glycosides is often not enough to induce nausea in birds. When a caterpillar feeds on non-toxic plants, it cannot synthesize toxins . Before the caterpillar eats a leaf, it first bites the petiole of plants with a high milk sap content so that the leaf bends down. This interrupts the supply of milk juice into the leaf. This reduces the risk of the mandibles sticking together due to the milky juice. This behavior can be observed just two hours after the egg caterpillar hatches. In the first caterpillar stage, it usually bites through a series of arched veins on the leaf margin, but sometimes the main vein is also severed, as the older caterpillars do.

The ideal temperature range for the caterpillars is between 18 ° C and 30 ° C. If these values ​​are not reached or exceeded, many caterpillars die.

When the caterpillar is disturbed, it picks up its front part and tilts its head down. This behavior is similar to that of the caterpillars of the family of moth (Sphingidae).

Euploea core serves as food for a wide range of plants , which is probably one of the reasons for its abundance. In Australia, oleander and Cryptostegia grandiflora , an invasive neophyte with a strong tendency to spread, have only recently been used as food crops. Both were only introduced by the European immigrants and play an important role in Australia, as they provide a more constant supply of young shoots that are favorable for oviposition than the original food plants. Cryptostegia grandiflora is often found along roads and dry rivers and there are often considerable populations of Euploea core to be found.

Sometimes the eggs are laid on plants of the genus Asclepias that are unsuitable for the caterpillars . The caterpillars begin to feed on the plants, but die after a few days. The cause of this is not known, but closely related plants are well tolerated by the caterpillars. Under laboratory conditions only one of 50 Euploea core corinna caterpillars survived the first stage on Gomphocarpus fruticosus , but this then made it to the moth. In contrast, the mortality from oleanders was significantly lower, 94 percent survived the first stage, with mortality increasing sharply in stages four and five and about 50 percent making it to the pupa. On weeping figs, 86 percent fewer caterpillars survived the first instar than on oleanders, but the mortality rate did not increase as much, so that around 75 percent pupated. At Parsonsia strarninea of larvae died each stage about 10 percent, so that as many to the doll survived as at Oleander.

Parasites

Several generalists have been identified as parasitoids of the caterpillars of Euploea core . These include the caterpillar flies (Tachinidae) Paradrino laevicula , Sturmia flavohalterata and Winthemia neowinthemioides and the hymenoptera (Hymenoptera) Brachymeria lasus from the Chalcididae family . The eggs are very rarely parasitized, as they probably contain significantly more glycosides than the caterpillars and are therefore better protected.

Systematics

The species was first described by Cramer in 1780 as Papilio core using a butterfly from the East Indian coast. The common English name of the butterfly is "Common Crow". In India it is also known as the “Common Indian Crow” and in Australia as the “Australian Crow” and “Oleander Butterfly”.

In its large area of ​​distribution, the species has been described several times, also because of its variable appearance. Many of these descriptions are considered subspecies. The populations formerly grouped under the species Euploea core have no pronounced common characteristics.Instead, the lack of characteristics that would allow an assignment to other species and the separate distribution areas were the reason for their classification in this species, which is always in question was asked. 1993 rose Richard I. Vane-Wright four geographically separated subspecies to species with which the new super species from the five species E. core (s. Str.), E. andamanensis , E. scherzeri , E. charox and E. Corinna is . E. core renellensis is considered a subspecies of E. charox , but could also be another species.

The division into five types results in the following system with the subspecies also mentioned here:

  • E. core Cramer , 1780
    • E. core asela ( Moore ), 1877
    • E. core kalaona ( Fruhstorfer ), 1898
    • E. core bauermanni ( Röber ), 1885
  • E. andamanensis , Atkinson , [1874]
  • E. scherzeri C. Felder , 1862
  • E. charox Kirsch , 1877
  • E. corinna ( Macleay ), 1826,

swell

  1. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 76
  2. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 40
  3. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 54
  4. ↑ a b c C. T. Bingham: Butterflies . In: The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma . tape 1 . London 1905, p. 32 f .
  5. ^ A b c Bernard d'Abrera: Butterflies of the Australian Region . 3. Edition. Hill House Publishers, Melbourne / London 1990, ISBN 0-7018-1003-3 , pp. 181-183 .
  6. ^ NA Marsh, CA Clarke, Miriam Rothschild & DN Kellett: Hypolimnas bolina (L.), a mimic of danaid butterflies, and its model Euploea core (Cram.) Store cardioactive substances . In: Nature . tape 268 , August 25, 1977, p. 726-728 , doi : 10.1038 / 268726a0 .
  7. ↑ Reginald Punnett Crundall: mimicry in butterflies . Cambridge University Press, 1915, pp. 25 .
  8. ↑ a b c Biology of the Australian Butterflies, pp. 191ff
  9. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 72
  10. ↑ a b R.I. Vane-Wright & R. de Jong: The butterflies of Sulawesi: annotated checklist for a critical island fauna . In: Zool. Relative band 343 . Leiden 2003, ISBN 90-73239-87-7 , pp. 227 ( naturalis.nl [PDF; 3.5 MB ; accessed on February 28, 2008]).
  11. ^ A b Bernard d'Abrera: The Butterflies of Ceylon . Hill House Publishers, Armadale (Victoria) 1998, ISBN 0-947352-35-X , pp. 112 .
  12. ^ Paul Lau: Butterflies of Hong Kong . Hong Kong 1997, p. 156 .
  13. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 78
  14. ^ A b G. Daglish, MP Zalucki, I. Gynther, H. Rahman, E. Scheermeyer & M. Arura: Field and Laboratory Observations on Oviposition by Euploea core (Insecta, Lepidoptera) . In: Australian Journal of Zoology . tape 34 , no. 6 . CSIRO PUBLISHING, Collingwood, Victoria 1986, pp. 827-836 , doi : 10.1071 / ZO9860827 .
  15. ↑ a b Gay, Kehimkar & Punetha: Common Butterflies of India . Hill House Publishers, Oxford 1992, ISBN 0-19-563164-1 , pp. 26 .
  16. ↑ Williams, Carrington Bonsor: The migratory flights of the insects: Introduction to the problem of the migratory behavior of the insects with special consideration of the butterflies . Paul Parey, Hamburg, Berlin 1961, pp. 55 .
  17. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 228
  18. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 102
  19. ↑ Miriam Rothschild, Neville Marsh & Brian Gardiner: Cardioactive substances in the Monarch butterfly and Euploea core reared on leaf-free artificial diet . In: Nature . tape 275 , October 19, 1978, p. 649-650 , doi : 10.1038 / 275649a0 .
  20. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 81
  21. ↑ Clarke, Anthony R .; Zalucki, Myron P .: Foraging and vein-cutting behavior of Euploea core corinna (WS Macleay) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) caterpillars feeding on latex-bearing leaves . In: Australian Journal of Entomology . tape 39 , no. 4 . Blackwell Publishing, October 2000, pp. 283-290 , doi : 10.1046 / j.1440-6055.2000.00191.x ( HTML [accessed October 20, 2008]).
  22. ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 229
  23. ↑ Habib Ur Rahman, Myron P. Zaluckai & Elly Scheermeyer: The Effect of Host Plant on the Development and Survival of the Immature Stages of Euploea core corinna (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae) . In: Australian Journal of Entomology . tape 24 , no. 2 , May 1985, pp. 95-98 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1440-6055.1985.tb00195.x .
  24. ^ J. McAuslane & Fred D. Bennett: Parasitoids and Predators Associated with Syntomeida epilais (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) on Oleander Heather . In: Florida Entomologist . tape 78 , no. 3 , September 1995, p. 543 ff . ( fcla.edu [PDF]).

literature

  • Richard Irwin Vane-Wright & PR Ackery (Eds.): Milkweed Butterflies. Their Cladistics and Biology . Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1984, ISBN 0-8014-1688-4 .
  • Michael F. Braby: Butterflies of Australia , CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, Volume 2, pp. 605-607.
  • RL Kitching & Myron P. Zalucki: Observations on the Ecology of Euploea core corinna (Nymphalidae) with special reference to an overwintering population , Journal of the Lepidoptera Society, Volume 35, 1981, pp. 106-119.
  • RL Kitching, Dr. E. Scheermeyer, RE Jones and NE Pierce (Eds.): The Biology of the Australian Butterflies , CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1999, Chapter 9.
  • Elly Scheermeyer: Overwintering of Three Australian Danaines: Tirumala hamata, Euploea tulliolus tulliolus and Euploea core corinna in SB Malcolm and MP Zalucki (eds.): Biology and Conservation of the Monarch Butterfly , Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles 1993, Pp. 345-354.

Web links

Commons : Euploea core  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on November 12, 2008 in this version .