Tirumala limniace
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Tirumala limniace on a convertible rose |
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| ( Cramer , [1775]) |
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Tirumala limniace ( English Blue Tiger ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of Nymphalidae .
It is widespread in South and Southeast Asia, but is absent in Borneo and Sumatra . All stages are toxic due to the metabolism of cardiac glycosides ; these substances are taken up by the moth through the plant sap and by the earlier stages through the host plants. This protects the moths from typical predators from the vertebrate group such as birds , mice and lizards . The caterpillars feed on various species from the subfamily of the silk plant family (Asclepiadoideae).
features
Imago
Tirumala limniace is a large butterfly with wide wings. It has a wingspan of 90 to 100 millimeters, with the males being smaller than the females. The upper side of the wing is dark brown to black and patterned with bluish-white, semi-transparent spots and lines. The blue of the bluish-white spots consists of the pigment pterobilin . In cell 1b of the forewing, which, like all the others, is an area on the wing bounded by veins, run two strips, sometimes connected, after which there is a large spot. A stripe runs from the base of the discoid cell, followed by a large spot that is notched from the wing tip (apex). A large oval spot sits at the base of cell 2, a significantly smaller spot is at the base of cell 3, followed by a small spot. Five short stripes can be seen in the post-disk region on the leading edge, only two of which are clearly defined. Two rows of irregular points run submarginally, the inner ones being larger than the outer ones.
There is a stripe in cell 1a on the hind wing. A strip that divides from the base also runs through cells 1b and 1c. In the discoid cell there is a wide dividing strip. The lower branch hooks or has a short spur-like base. At the base of cells 2 and 3 there is a thin, V-shaped arch. In cells 2 and 5 there is a strong, wide strip at the base. Two rows of scattered, irregular points also run submarginally, the inner ones being larger than the outer ones.
The males differ from the females in that they each have a black pocket filled with scented scales in cell 1c, near the discoid cell on the upper side of the hind wings. The pockets are only created after hatching while the moth inflates its wings by turning in scented flakes. They play an important role in courtship, along with tufts of hair that can be turned out on the abdomen . The hairs sprout almost only from the rear third of the tuft of hair, a typical feature of the Danaini genera grouped under the clade Danaina .
The underside of the forewing is black, only the apex is olive-brown like the underside of the hind wings. The pattern largely corresponds to the top.
The antennae are black, as are the head and thorax , these two still bearing white dots and lines. The top of the abdomen is dark, the underside is ocher with white shimmering underneath at the segment boundaries.
egg
Freshly laid eggs are shiny silver-white; they get darker later. The egg is slightly higher than it is wide, bulbous, with a wide base and a flattened tip. Ribs in pairs run along the surface, while smaller ribs run across the surface, forming small cells with the longitudinal ribs.
Caterpillar
The young caterpillar is smooth, slightly translucent and has a dull color. Only after the second caterpillar stage appear paired, fleshy appendages. They are located on the mesothorax (segment 2) and on the eighth anal segment (segment 11) and are black and greenish-white in color. The older caterpillar is yellowish-white and has four black horizontal stripes on each segment, the second of which is wider than all the others and forks to the side. A yellow line runs along the body. The head capsule is striped yellowish-white and black. The caterpillars are about 40 millimeters long.
Doll
The caterpillar pupates into a squat tumbled pupa that is about 22 millimeters long. It is initially light green and later becomes dark green. There are several golden dots on the doll that form a continuous band on the abdomen. Its shape is similar to that of the African monarch ( Danaus chrysippus ), but has more golden dots on the wing chambers.
The doll is semi-transparent and shiny for the first three to four days. Then it becomes opaque. The moth begins pigmentation about 48 hours before hatching. The drawing of the wings can be seen in the form of white dots through the doll's skin, while the rest remains green. Ten hours before hatching, the pupa turns black and the entire butterfly can be seen through the now transparent pupal skin.
egg
Caterpillar
Doll
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distribution
Tirumala limniace is widespread in South and Southeast Asia. The area of permanent settlement extends from Pakistan , India and Nepal in the northwest to China including Taiwan in the northeast and extends over the Maldives , Southeast Asia, the Philippines ( Luzon ) and Sulawesi (very rarely) to Timor . Also populated are Sri Lanka , the Andaman , Nicobar , Langkawi , Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands Sumbawa , Sumba and Flores .
The species is absent on the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra and Borneo and on Palawan. In Java the species flies together with Tirumala hamata and Tirumala septentrionis . Since this area is far separated from the main distribution area, the animals on Java and its smaller neighboring islands could be a separate species.
The vertical spread usually does not exceed 1,000 meters. In Taiwan they live up to 1,500 meters and only in the foothills of the Himalayas do they rise to about 2,000 meters
Similar species
In some regions, Tirumala limniace can be confused with two other representatives of the genus:
- Tirumala hamata is generally darker and more strongly drawn. Both species are found in the Philippines and some Sunda Islands .
- Tirumala septentrionis is even darker than Tirumala hamata and has thinner stripes and smaller spots compared to Tirumala limniace . The butterfly lives in dense, humid jungles and occurs in continental South Asia as well as on Hainan , Taiwan , Sumatra , Nias , Java , Borneo and Palawan .
mimicry
Tirumala limniace serves two species from other families as a model for Bates' mimicry . The non-poisonous imitators benefit from the protection against predators that the poisonous Tirumala limniace enjoys. The females of Pareronia valeria (family Weißlinge (Pieridae)) look like Tirumala limniace especially in flight. The whitefly is smaller, however, and has a dirty blue basic color and a somewhat pale, rust-brown broad markings on the wing veins and the wing edges. The knight butterfly Chilasa clytia form dissimilis also looks similar. In this somewhat larger moth, the pattern consists mainly of stripes and a series of cream-colored spots on the outer edge of the hind wing.
Müller's mimicry is found in the three species of the Ideopsis similis complex ( I. similis , I. vulgaris and I. juventa ) and two species of the genus Parantica . The drawing of Parantica aglea is whitish and consists of wider bands and stripes. Parantica nilgiriensis has very narrow and pale drawing elements and thus appears brown. The species is restricted to the south Indian highlands.
Chilasa clytia f. dissimilis
Ideopsis vulgaris
Parantica aglea melanoides
Parantica nilgiriensis
habitat
The species lives in almost all natural and also man-made habitats, such as gardens in villages. However, it avoids very dry regions and very dense forests and is often found in forests, grasslands, scrubland and gardens. The moths are very common during and after the Indian summer monsoons , whereas they are rare or absent in places in winter.
Way of life
butterfly
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Tirumala limniace flies slowly, often close to the ground or a few meters above the ground. This gives possible enemies enough time to recognize the butterfly's warning pattern and to avoid it. When the moths are startled or migrate, they fly faster. They are strongly attracted by flowers and damp mud, and less often by predator droppings. They close their wings when they suckle. In India, the butterflies often visit hedges and gardens with plants of the genera Cosmos , Tagetes and lantana ( Lantana ). Forest edges, dozens of butterflies gather at high perennials such as on Adelocaryum TYPES of the family Boraginaceae .
In extreme drought, the moths gather in large numbers in damp places to suckle on the ground. Sometimes hundreds of males cluster near puddles and damp places.
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 . Tirumala limniace takes these substances particularly of species of the genera Crotalaria (Family Pea (Faboideae)), solstices ( Heliotropium ) (Family Borage Family (Boraginaceae)) and ageratum ( Ageratum ) (family Asteraceae (Asteraceae)) on. The males chemically convert the alkaloids into the pheromones danaidon and hydroxydanaidal , which are also found in their tufts of hair. The alkaloids make the moths of both sexes inedible, often the amount of alkaloid ingested by the caterpillars is sufficient to make the moths inedible for predators.
The males gather in certain places to attract females with the pheromones formed from the pyrrolizidine alkaloids. To do this, the males pull out their tufts of hair, dip them into the pockets on the rear wings and transfer the pheromones from the scented scales inside to the tufts of hair.
After mating, the females lay their eggs one by one on the underside of the leaf.
Caterpillar
The caterpillars live on the underside of the leaves of the food plants. Usually they are distributed over the food plants, but over 200 caterpillars have already been observed on a single, approximately four meter high, climbing plant of the species Wattakaka volubilis . If such clusters are abundant, it is very likely that the moths will migrate afterwards.
All known food plants come from the subfamily of the silk plants (Asclepiadoideae). Wattakaka volubilis is the most widely used food crop in India . In addition, Calotropis gigantea , the Indian milkweed ( Asclepias curassavica ), Hoya species and Tylophora indica were detected. The caterpillars on Dregea formosana and Heterostemma brownii (both Asclepiadoideae) live in Taiwan .
Migratory behavior
Tirumala limniace migrates in some regions with a few hundred to a few thousand animals per swarm. In migratory flocks together with other species, their number is small compared to the other species. Individual moths have been observed hibernating in clusters of the migratory butterflies Euploea core and Euploea midamus in Hong Kong . In Taiwan, the moths migrate in autumn with other species, sometimes in large swarms, over 300 kilometers from the mountains in the north to the lowlands in the south. They form colonies on trees in sheltered valleys at 300 to 500 meters above sea level together with other species of the Danaini tribe. The locals call the valleys "Butterfly Valley" or "Purple Butterfly Valley" (purple butterfly valley ). In these valleys, temperatures usually stay above 10 ° C even during winter. At the end of March, the moths mate and then fly individually to the north to lay their eggs.
In Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf near Faw , individual animals were rarely seen, likely migrating westward from northwestern India. Only in August 1983 was a larger number observed in the Gulf together with some Danaus genutia , when moths were blown from India to the Arabian Peninsula by the monsoon storm Aurora .
In some years the species is carried as far as Japan with storms during the monsoons .
Parasites
Tirumala limniace is attacked by the same parasitoids in India as the African monarch ( Danaus chrysippus ). These include ichneumon wasps and caterpillar flies (Tachinidae). The wasp Ooencyrtus papilionis from the Chalcididae family is a specialty, which has been proven to be an egg parasite , which is very rare in the entire subfamily.
Systematics
Tirumala limniace was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1775 as Papilio limniace based on a butterfly from China. The specific epithet is the name of the nymph Limniace , daughter of the Ganges from Ovid's Metamorphoses . The species was later classified in the genera Danais ( Seitz , 1908), Danaida ( Fruhstorfer , 1910) and Danaus ( Talbot , 1943) before it was given its current name in 1977. Tirumala limniace is likely paraphyletic or even polyphyletic and is therefore considered a paraspecies . In particular, the geographically isolated subspecies in the southeastern distribution area could still be separated after more detailed investigations. Together with seven of the eight other species in the genus, the species forms a species complex, the individual species of which are difficult to distinguish morphologically .
Subspecies
The following subspecies are distinguished:
- T. limniace exoticus: Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Burma , Thailand , Vietnam , Laos , Cambodia , Cocos Islands , Andamans, Nicobar Islands, Malaysia
- T. limniace limniace: China, Hainan, Taiwan
- T. limniace orestilla: Mindoro , Negros
- T. limniace makassara: Sulawesi
- T. limniace ino: Sula
- T. limniace bentenga: Salajar
- T. limniace conjuncta: Kalao , Bawean , Kangean , Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo
- T. limniace confluenta: Bali
- T. limniace vaneeckeni: Flores, Alor , Timor, Wetar
swell
- ↑ a b c d e Bingham, p. 16
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 26
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 321
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 23
- ↑ a b c d Kunte & Gadgil, p. 144
- ↑ a b c d e Kunte & Gadgil, p. 145
- ↑ a b c Milkweed Butterflies, p. 44
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 69
- ↑ a b c Hsiau Yue Wang, Thomas C. Emmel: Migration and Overwintering Aggregation of Nine Danaine Butterfly Species in Taiwan (Nymphalidae) . In: Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society . tape 44 , no. 4 , 1990, pp. 216-228 .
- ↑ a b c Kunte & Gadgil, p. 143
- ↑ Kunte & Gadgil, p 146
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, pp. 198f
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 102
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 116
- ↑ TB Larsen, DE Pedgley: Indian migrant butterflies displaced to Arabia by monsoon storm 'Aurora' at August 1983 . In: Ecological Entomology . tape 10 , no. 2 . Wiley, 1984, pp. 235-238 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-2311.1985.tb00554.x .
- ↑ Kunte & Gadgil, p 147
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 97
- ↑ Yan-Zhou Zhang, Wei Li & Da-Wei Huang: A Taxonomic Study of Chinese Species of Ooencyrtus (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) . In: Zoological Studies . tape 44 , no. 3 , 2005, p. 355 ( PDF [accessed March 18, 2009]).
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 43f
- ↑ Milkweed Butterflies, p. 115ff
literature
- CT Bingham: Butterflies . In: The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma . tape 1 . London 1905, p. 16 .
- Krushnamegh Kunte & Madhav Gadgil: Butterflies of Peninsular India . In: India, a Lifescape . Orient Blackswan, 2000, ISBN 978-81-7371-354-5 , pp. 143 ff .
- Richard Irwin Vane-Wright & PR Ackery (Eds.): Milkweed Butterflies. Their Cladistics and Biology . Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1984, ISBN 978-0-8014-1688-0 (425 pages).
