Monday 13 July 2015

Elymnias esaca (Green Palmfly)

Elymnias esaca
Initially this butterfly was thought to resemble a Jezebel Palmfly (Elymnias Vasudeva). But after seeking confirmation from local expert, Dr Laurence Kirton confirmed that it was a female 'Elymnias escaca' which can be found in Peninsular Malaysia but just not so common ! It was alone at that time and was quite skittish as well. Photo was taken in the early afternoon. Location: Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia.

Here is Dr Laurence Kirton's explanation: "It is easily confused with Elymnias vasudeva, which has a slightly different wing shape and lacks black submarginal spots. E. esaca also has less heavy black markings on the underside". 

After obtaining confirmation from Dr Laurence K, i decided to look closely at Jezebel Palmfly's photos, and found that they indeed do not have spots towards its hindwings as compared to E. esaca ! Wow didn't know that identifying butterflies can be a real challenge as well.  

Photo id credit: Dr Laurence Kirton from Malaysia and Mr SK Khew from Singapore. 

Butterflies in February 2024

There were a quite a number of females seen in February which means that if they start laying eggs now, their new broth can emerge sometime ...