Protogoniomorpha parhassus

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Protogoniomorpha parhassus
Forest Mother-of-pearl on flower.jpg

Protogoniomorpha parhassus

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Genre : Protogoniomorpha
Type : Protogoniomorpha parhassus
Scientific name
Protogoniomorpha parhassus
( Drury , 1782)

Protogoniomorpha parhassus ( Syn. Salamis parhassus ) is a butterfly fromthe noble butterfly family (Nymphalidae).

features

butterfly

The wingspan of this large butterfly is 75 to 100 millimeters. Its wings are almost translucent and have a silvery-white to light green color with purple speckles and black spots and dots. The wing tips are shaped like hooks and black, as are the outer edges of the wings. The hind wings are jagged and have a black spur. Directly above it is a very distinctive black-white-red eye spot . The scales of the wings reflect the sunlight when in flight, while at rest they seem rather dull. The underside is white with gray flecks and the body is black on the top and white on the underside. There is a brown line in the middle of the wing. The size and the color depend on the rainy and dry season. Generations in the rainy season are much smaller and darker in color, and the hooks on the front wings are smaller. There is no difference in appearance between the sexes.

Underside of the wings

egg

The eggs are 1.1 millimeters in diameter and 1 millimeter high. They are pale and watery green to dirty green in color and keeled lengthways with 16 keels. There are about 50 transverse ribs between the keels.

Caterpillar

The body of the caterpillar is 33.2 to 56 millimeters long and goes through six stages. It is light brown dorsally and brownish green underneath. They are yellowish to the sides. The bristles and the head are black. The first larval stage lasts three days. And at the end of this stage, the caterpillar is 5.56 millimeters larger than before. In the second stage, which lasts about four to five days, the bristles are replaced by black bumps with black spines. Each segment then has a protrusion on the back that is missing on the first three and the last two segments. The body is now olive at the top, except for the last three yellow segments, and pale yellow on the sides. The caterpillar is now 8.7 to 9.5 millimeters larger than before. In the third stage, which lasts four days, the colors darken, the head turns salmon-colored and has black horns. The caterpillar grows another 14.7 to 16.2 millimeters. At the end of this stage, the folds of the middle segments lighten whitish. In the fourth stage, the larger caterpillars are black with a black head and horns. The smaller the caterpillars are at this stage, the more salmon-colored the head is colored. Towards the end of this stage, the whitish areas first turn yellowish and then salmon-colored. They then grow by another 22 to 26 millimeters in about 12 days. The next stage then lasts another 8 days in which the caterpillar grows another 32 millimeters. At this stage they have a dark brown, almost black head with black horns, which in the sixth stage change to a salmon-brown or dark brown head with black horns. The markings on the back first turn reddish-salmon-colored and later fade to a dirty brown. This stage then lasts another 12 days until the caterpillar has reached its maximum size of 50 to 56 millimeters.

Doll

The doll is hung over a cremaster and is 30 millimeters long. It is divided into two parts: the head and back, which stand out on a sharp edge in the thorax area. There are two rows of thorns on the back that start at the end of the wings. The butterfly hatches after 13 to 17 days.

Behavior and way of life

The flight time of this species is all year round. The moth can only be observed on short flights, otherwise it often sits in dense bushes and is very well camouflaged here. Known as warmth and sun-loving, you can often see them sunbathing. They appear individually, sometimes in groups of two or three. The males sit on the lower leaves of trees or on the tips of higher bushes and hold their wings half open. Here they keep an eye out for females or other butterflies that they chase away from their territory. They are most active late in the afternoon. To sleep they hang upside down on the underside of leaves at night. They take nectar from various plants, the males can also be seen in mud puddles taking in minerals or even on the dung from elephants . Both sexes can be observed in forest clearings on a lazy, prancing flight. In Tanzania, migrations of the moths have been observed over a distance of at least 480 kilometers into the dry savannas near Voi in Kenya. This could indicate a migratory behavior of the moths. The eggs are laid individually on the ends of young leaves.

It takes about five days for the caterpillar to hatch from the tip of the egg, which then eats the egg shell.

The caterpillars eat acanthus plants (Acanthaceae) of the genera Asystasia and Isoglossa as well as Brilliantaisia , Mimulopsis , Paulowilhelmia and Justicia .

Selection of the caterpillar forage plant:

distribution and habitat

The species inhabits throughout Africa south of the Sahara from Senegal to South Africa and Madagascar , including the states of Guinea , Sierra Leone , Liberia , Ivory Coast , Ghana , Togo , Benin , southern Nigeria and the state of Cross River , Cameroon , Equatorial Guinea , Gabon , Democratic Republic of Congo , Republic of the Congo , Central African Republic , Angola , South Sudan , Uganda , Rwanda , Burundi , Ethiopia , Kenya , Tanzania , Malawi , Zambia , Mozambique as well as Zimbabwe and the Zambezi region to Namibia .

Dense rainforests and river banks with forest but also dense bushland are inhabited. In Tanzania it rises to heights of 2400 meters.

Subspecies

Only one subspecies is distinguished.

status

The species is widespread and common.

swell

literature

  • Elizabeth Balmer: Butterflies: Recognizing and Identifying. Parragon Books, 2007, ISBN 9781407512037 , p. 125

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Wijbren Landmann: Butterflies: Encyclopedia. Naumann & Göbel, 2002, ISBN 3-6251-0346-X .
  2. ↑ a b ButterflyCorner.net , accessed March 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Metamorphosis.org , English, accessed on March 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ a b c d Learn about Butterflies , English, accessed on March 5, 2015.
  5. ↑ Flora of Zimbabwe , English, accessed March 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ funet.it , English, accessed on March 5, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Protogoniomorpha parhassus  - collection of images, videos and audio files