Sunday 8 November 2015

Punchinello - Zemeros flegyas

The name "Punchinello" certainly sound a bit spanish but this butterfly apparently are only common in this region - i.e South East Asia. It is described as having dark orange brown color and has a wet and dry season form. I have recently came across an individual which was quite accommodating in having its photos taken. Here are some of its photos:

Zameros emesoides
From the look of the above photo it would appear that this butterfly is displaying its dry season form which is supposedly darker than its wet season color.

This butterfly has apparently many subspecies. You can go a level higher by trying to identify which subspecies it belongs to but for me i will just leave the task to the entomologist or lepidopterist.

On its behavior, this butterfly tends to move quite often when feeding on the nutrients from the flowers. This has allowed an excellent 360 degree view of its entire anatomy.

For whatever reasons it may be, this butterfly was seen been chased around by several Ypthima namely 3 rings and 5 rings. I believe it could have been more of a territorial issue rather than a hunter and prey thingy. 

Although it is quite a small butterfly at just 2.1cm, it can certainly make a strong impression or should i say "punch" if ever you have the chance to see one.


Butterflies are like Jewels of the Forest and Gardens !




No comments:

Butterflying in March 2024 - Kaniska et al.

The months from March to June will be perfect for some butterflying works due to the transition of the monsoon season to a much drier weathe...