BUTTERFLIES OF WEST MALAYSIA & SINGAPORE VOLUME...

PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA

Butter/lies of West Malaysia

& Singapore

Volume Two

W. A. Fleming


LONGMAN MALAYS IA SD . BERHAD \Visma Damansara, Jalan Semantan , Kuala Lumpur

25 , First Lokyang Road, Singapore 22

Associated companies, branches and representatives throughout the world

© Longman Malaysia Sdn . Berhad 1974

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Copyright owner.

First publ ished "1975

ISBN 0 900848 72 3

KP JB

d17524 I

Printed in Hong Kong by Dai Nippon Printing Co., (H.K. ) Ltd.

J 4 SEP 1995 Perpustaka:1 " Negara

Malaysia


INTRODUCTION

This work, published in two volumes, is a record, illustrated in colour, of all the species of butterfly confirmed to have been captured in West Malaysia and Singapore. Where there is marked sexual dimorphism , both male and female are figured. Where a species is represented in the area by more than one subspecies, only the most widespread is figured . Dimorphic and polymorphic forms are illustrated,

The first volume contains the families Papilionidae, Pieridae, Danaidae, Satyridae, Amathusiidae, Nymphalidae and Libytheidae. The second volume contains the fam ilies Riodinidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae.

West Malaysia consists of the States of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Selangor and Trengganu, together with such islands as come under their jurisdiction. Singapore consists of all islands governed by the Republic of Singapore. West Malaysia and Singapore formed part of the land mass defined by Kloss in 1929 and named Malaysia. This name is no longer convenient as a zoogeographical term because of its political connotations, and Johnson (MALAY. NAT. J .18:68-69) suggested Sundaland as an alternative. Sundaland is shown in the map (Fig.7), and comprises, in addition to West Malaysia and Singapore, the southern half of Peninsular Thailand, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo and Palawan. The Eastern boundary is known as Wallace's Lin~. Sundaland in its turn is part of the zoogeographical region known as the Oriental Region which is one of the five fa unistic regions of the world. This region is illustrated in the map (Fig.6) and details of the territories within it are given in a separate section on 'Distribution'.

Many of the butterflies from West Malaysia and Singapore are known in neighbouring countries, and some Malayan subspecies are identical with those of Sumatra and Borneo. Therefore although the subspecies may differ, the species may well be identifiable from the figures illustrated here.

Many territories remain for the collector to explore. The fact that an insect has not been recorded within a specific area does not mean that it does not exist there.

This work has been undertaken because of the difficulties collectors have in identifying their captures. There are two earlier excellent books on butterflies; an introductory volume, Common Malayan Butterflies by R. Morrell (Longman Malaysia 1960), and The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula by A.S. Corbet and H .M . Pendlebury (Oliver & Boyd 2nd Edition 1956). The former is an essential book for the beginner giving as it does details of the equipment required by a collector. The latter, unfortunately now out of print, is for the more advanced student or collector. It is hoped that the present work will be complementary to both and will make a useful contribution towa rds the knowledge of the fauna of the region. The author is a collector, not an entomologist , and hopes to be forgiven for errors and omissions which may have occurred as a result of his inadequate scientific knowledge.

VII


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To Col. J.N. Eliot I wish to express my very sincere thanks for his encouragement, assistance with the original draft, up-to-date information and general help without which this book would not have been possible.

I would like to thank Col. C.F. Cowan for reading the original draft and for his welcome criticism, advice and suggestions which led to its improvement.

I would also like to record my appreciation to the Trustees of the Britjsh Museum (Natural History) and to Dr. Freeman, Keeper of Entomology, for granting permission to use specimens in the National Collection for photography.

My thanks are due to Col. J.N . Eliot, Major A. Bedford Russell, Messrs. J.A. Hislop M.C., Norman Parker, David Pasteur, Michael Yeh, my wife Alix and my son Anagus who provided material from their collections for photography. Thanks are also due to Major P.H.J . Wilcocks, to the Official Photographer at the British Museum (Natural History) and David Pasteur for photography in Britain.

For valued advice and helpful suggestions in general I am indebted to Messrs H.F. O'B. Traill and H.S. Barlow and for his assistance with colour printing problems, Richard Ferris of Kodak (Malaya) Pte., Ltd.

Lastly I wish to thank my wife Alix for undertaking the painstaking task of checking the correctness of scientific names.

VIII


CONTENTS

Introduction vu

Acknowledgements Vlll

The Butterfly Body Wings Butterflies and Moths 4 Nomenclature 4

Notes on text and plates 7 Distribution 8

Glossary 12

Riodinidae 15 Lycaenidae 17 Hesperiidae 56 Index 81

IX


3000ft " 1200lt

/ ',\i\ 600ft ~5000ft 1

THAILAND

SUMATRA

o 20 40 60miles I i I I I' I I I o 20 40 60 80 100km


THE BUTTERFLY

A butterfly starts life as an egg, hatches into a caterpillar or larva which in due course forms a pupa or chrysalis . From the pupa emerges the imago or adult butterfly. After mating the two sexes go their separate ways, the females being chiefly concerned with oviposition, leading them to the food plant. The males' chief aim in life appears to be enjoyment , chasing one another, congregating on moist sandy river !:tanks and roads, and oft en fl ying to ·exposed hilly or mountain tops. It is by no means unusual to find the two sexes in very different localities and altitudes.

The Body

The main features of a butterfly's body (Fig. I) are the head, thorax and abdomen. The head bears the antennae, proboscis and palpi. The eyes are compound . The thorax supports three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings and could be called the engine room. The abdomen consists of ten segments, the most important taxonomically being the last three which house the genitalia. Features . which are of taxonomic importance are the eyes, which may be smooth or hairy; antennal clubs and shafts

Antenna

Eye

Paipus

Proboscis

Head I I I I

Thorax

--------- Tarsus

Figure I. Features of a butterfly's body

which may differ in shape and colour; palpi which may be blunt, sharp, short or thin, erect or porrect; legs, which are divided into five sections also play their part in determining family and sex.

Genitalia, or the reproductive organs, are among the most important features in determining the genus and species of a butterfly. In fact there are a number of cases where examination of the genitalia, including dissection, is the only reliable means by which a species can be identified. Mention of such cases will be made in the text.

The Wings

T he wings are membraneous and vary greatly in size, shape and pattern. vYing

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BUTTERFLIES OF WEST MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE

ve nation is of great importance in the classification of butterflies. There are several notations in use describing the venation. In this work the 'Numerical Notation' is used . Forewing venation (Fig.2) represents the forewing of a butterfly with all veins present. Some butterflies do not have all veins present, especially in the apical area. It is customary to assume that when veins are absent, the first to be dropped is vein 8, and the second vein 9. The total is obtained by counting from vein 2, the lowest vein rising from the cell. Vein numbers are as marked. In addition, there are veins outlining the cell known as; along the top - the radius; along the bottom - the cubitus; at the cell end - the discocellulars, lower, middle and upper, the middle often obsolete.

10 9 8

11 ,~9 8 /, 19-::::/ 7 /,v- - s-

/ "'----5----

5 ----- Discoceliulars 4

Cubitus

Figure 2. Venation of the forewing

The spaces between the veins are as numbered (Fig. 2) the space taking the number of the vein which forms its base.

Radius

Humeral-----

1b

F'igure 3. Venation of the hindwing

2


THE BUTTERFLY

Hindwing venation (Fig.3) represents the hindwing of a butterfly with all vems present. The names associated with the cell are as named on the forewing. The small vein at the base of the wing near space 8 is known as the precostal or humeral vein.

Frequent reference will be made to wing margins and wing surfaces. Forewing details (Fig.4) are : Costa - upper margin of wing. Termen - outer margin of wing. Apex - angle formed by costa and termen. Dorsum - lower margin of wing. Tornus - angle formed by termen and dorsum. Base - base of the wing.

A - basal B - post-basal. C - sub-discal. D - discal. E - post-discal. F - sub-marginal. G - marginal. H - sub-apical. I - apical.

Figure 4. Wing surfaces and wing margins of the forewing

Hindwing details (Fig.S) are:

A - costal area. B - basal. C - sub-discal. D - discal. E - post-discal. F - sub-marginal. G - marginal. H - dorsal. I - tornal.

Tornus

Figure 5. Wing surfaces and wing margins of the hindwing

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