The wingspan of H. alimena is 80–90mm. The ground colour of the wings is black with a row of white dots and a blue band.[3]
These butterflies resemble closely to related species,H. bolina.The males exhibit less visually elaborate structural coloration, as compared. The dorsal blue coloration of this butterfly has weak iridescence, and is not very bright. This is because it arises from a simpler nanosale surface structure, unlike the more complex nanoscale multilayer-arrays structure of H. bolina, which gives it a brighter sheen and saturation.[4]
Behavior
The males of this species primarily utilize a sit-and wait-strategy for locating mates. This behavior is similar to Hypolimnas bolina. However, unlike H. bolina, these males do not engage in extended aerial disputes for the territorial defence. Both of their flightmorphology is strikingly similar, and does not show any significant differences in terms of strength, as is noticeable by their similar thoracic mass. Another characteristic shared by the two species is possessing a higher relative flight musculature, lower wing loading, and a lower aspect ratio, compared to their conspecific female specimens. However these traits contribute to the sexual dimorphism observed within the species, it only suggests partial match with the typical observations of sexual selection.[5]
The females show no notable preference for males with variable dorsal blue coloration and hues, unless it is completely or mostly absent. This low drive towards exaggerated visual signals is specific to this species, unlike others in the same genus.[4]
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