Beiträge von EarlyStages

  • Maluku (Indonesia)

    Thank you Jean-Marc. After consulting my references (e.g. Papilionidae and their Early Stages by Igarashi, The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea by Parsons, The Life Histories of Asian Butterflies by Igarashi & Fukuda, and more importantly my own caterpillar images of Atrophaneura [Pachliopta] polydorus from Timika), I can confirm that Gérard's larva is an excellent match for this species – the only other congener reported from Halmahera being A. polyphontes, whose chenille has a white abdominal band on A3. Please note that the reddish tubercles and, when present, creamy bases of A. polydorus cats can vary in number, coloration, and/or extent . . . certainly between, if not within, island populations.

    Hans, I suspect the subject raupe was simply placed on the nearest big leaf for ease of photography, the pictured plant being unrelated to the actual host. Again, this is surely the caterpillar of A. polydorus, which utilizes various Aristolochiaceae.

    Cheers,

    Keith

  • Maluku (Indonesia)

    Hi Jean-Marc,

    How did someone arrive at the determination of "Ornithoptera croesus" for the black and red caterpillar posed on a monocot (9 July 2010 photo by G. Bellanger) in the accompanying link? This chenille does not look like any immature Ornithoptera I have seen, having instead the characteristic appearance of a "Pachliopta" – more specifically Atrophaneura (P.) polydorus. Is that a common butterfly on Halmahera? And how long/big was the subject larva, please? Thanks very much.

    Best wishes,

    Keith Wolfe

  • Gold Puppe / Thailand

    Please allow me to provide a different determination – Euploea core. After looking at the caterpillar with its coiled tubercles (I know much about immatures, but care little about adults), my immediate impression was E. core; certainly not klugii and probably not modesta. Mindful of larval variation, however, I e-mailed the resulting male photos to Dr. Kotaro Saito, a leading authority on Euploea and advisor/contributor to the website http://yutaka.it-n.jp/. Here is his reply: "E. klugii is very rounded. By seeing your photo of the underside, I think that it is not klugii. E. modesta is unique in sexual strand of upperside of the hindwing and shape of both wings. I don't think it is modesta, though I do not see the upperside of this individual [clearly]. I identify this individual as E. core graminifera."

    Best wishes,

    Keith Wolfe

  • Schmetterlinge aus Schmetterlingengarten

    Hallo Henri, 

    Having reared a number of different Caligo species from both Central and South America – Yes, larvae #1 certainly appear to be C. eurilochus, while #2 are most likely C. telamonius (memnon). FYI on what I found to be the three most commonly bred Caligo caterpillars (my determinations): 

    Caligo atreus (butterfly garden, National Museum, San José, Costa Rica) by Carl Rosendahl 
    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/3180882634_e41e60190d_b.jpg

    Caligo eurilochus (butterfly house, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada) by Aires Mario da Cruz 
    http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4418537923_b463c6a86c_o.jpg

    Caligo telamonius (Studley Grange Butterfly World, Wroughton, England) by Robert Slade 
    http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4419298180_a384df02a3_o.jpg

    Best wishes, 

    Keith

  • Raupen / Thailand

    Hallo Hans,

    The first caterpillar is most interesting! I have reared a number of Asian Adoliadini in the genera Dophla, Euthalia, Lexias, and Tanaecia, and while your Raupe resembles that of monotypic Dophla evelina, there are strong differences. My own images are as yet unscanned Kodachrome slides, so here is an Internet photo of D. evelina larvae (unidentified) from a butterfly exhibit in Copenhagen:

    [Blockierte Grafik: http://www.danske-natur.dk/images12/lepb0110a.jpg]

    Thus, my best guess is that your first caterpillar belongs to a species whose immature stages are currently unreported. By the way, 80 millimeters seems an extraordinary size for this kind of raupe. Is that the length of just the body, or are you including the feathery scoli (spines)? Were both larvae the same size? Thanks very much, Hans, for your time and kind reply!

    Best wishes,

    Keith Wolfe