The butterfly has historically been called the nigger referring to its dark brown colour,[2][3][4][5] but it has been renamed in Australian faunal works to smooth-eyed bushbrown,[6]medus brown[7] in India, and dark grass-brown[8] in Southeast Asia.
Description
Orsotriaena medus is a medium-sized butterfly with wingspan of 45 to 55mm (1.8 to 2.2in). The butterfly is dark brown above with a thin marginal pale border. The upper hindwing having a thin submarginal line. There are no eyespots on the upperside of the wings.[9]
Below, the butterfly has a white discal band which runs across both wings. It has five eyespots on the underside of the wings. In the forewing, it has two eyespots, with the anterior eyespot slightly smaller. In the hindwing, it has two eyespots on the apical region and a separate ocellus in the tornal (hindmost) region. The uppermost of the eyespots in the hindwing are greatly smaller, while the remaining two are more or less of equal sizes.[9]
The eggs are spherical and yellowish. They are laid on the leaf blades and stems of grasses.[9] The larvae are spindle shaped, transversely wrinkled, and covered in small tubercles, giving it a rough appearance. Two long brown spines on the head point forward, while a pair of pinkish prongs project from the anal segment. The colour above is rosy red with a blue dorsal and a white lateral line, below which, the underparts are green.[10]
The pupae are perpendicularly suspended, slender and regular, except that the head-case is produced into a long beak formed of two thin processes like split straws. The colour is whitish brown to yellow, with faint bands of a darker shades. It resembles a large grain of barley or a tiny banana.[10][11]
Orsotriaena medus superficially resembles members of the genus Mycalesis (bushbrowns), but can readily be identified by the number of spots.[11]
O. medus is very common in grassy habitats up to an altitude of 1,600m (5,200ft). A shy, weak-flying insect, it stays low amongst the undergrowth, and when disturbed flies for a short distance before settling down. The butterfly basks in the sun, often with its body aligned parallel to the sun's rays.[9]
Taxonomy
Orsotriaena medus is classified under the subfamilySatyrinae (the browns) of the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae.[3][12]Orsotriaena medus is divided into several subspecies, listed below with their respective synonyms and geographical ranges.[3]
Mycalesis oculus, the red-disc bushbrown, is a satyrine butterfly found in southern India. It is similar in markings to Mycalesis adolphei but distinguished by the reddish band around the large apical spots on the upper forewings.
Mycalesis, the bushbrowns, are a genus of brush-footed butterflies. They are common in the warm regions from Central Asia to Australia, and have a high diversity in South Asia and the Wallacea.
Mycalesis mestra, the white-edged bushbrown, is a species of satyrine butterfly found in Asia
Cressida cressida, the clearwing swallowtail or big greasy, is a Troidine swallowtail butterfly found in northern Australia, New Guinea, Maluku, and Timor. It is in the monotypic genus Cressida.
Mycalesis terminus, the orange bushbrown, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia (Queensland).
↑ Kirton, Laurence G. (2014). A Naturalist's Guide to the Butterflies of Peninsular Malayasia, Singapore and Thailand. Oxford:John Beaufoy Publ. p.62.
1 2 3 4 Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation. pp.144–145, ser 352.
↑ Kalesh, S & S K Prakash (2007). "Additions of the larval host plants of butterflies of the Western Ghats, Kerala, Southern India (Rhopalocera, Lepidoptera): Part 1". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 104 (2): 235–238.
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