Tirumala hamata

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Tirumala hamata
Blue Tiger (Tirumala hamata) (5795261179).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Tirumala
Species:
T. hamata
Binomial name
Tirumala hamata
(MacLeay, [1826]) [1]
Synonyms
  • Euploea hamataMacLeay, [1826]
  • Danais australisBlanchard, 1853
  • Papilio melissaStoll, [1781]
  • Danais moderataButler, [1876]
  • Danais hamata var. orientalisSemper, [1879]
  • Tirumala angustataMoore, 1883
  • Danaida nephthysFruhstorfer, 1911
  • Danaida pelagiaFruhstorfer, 1911
  • Danaida sassinaFruhstorfer, 1911
  • Danaida tibulaFruhstorfer, 1911
  • Danaida melissa melissa f. melissinaRothschild, 1915
  • Danaida tutuilaeHopkins, 1927
  • Tirumala neomelissaBryk, 1937
  • Danaus mendicaTalbot, 1943
  • Danaida hamata paryadresFruhstorfer, 1910
  • Danaida singariaFruhstorfer, 1910
  • Danaida hamata arikataFruhstorfer, 1910
  • Danais (Tirumala) melissa nigraMartin, 1910
  • Danais (Tirumala) hamata goanaMartin, 1910
  • Danais leucopteraButler, 1874
  • Danaus hamata talautensisTalbot, 1943
  • Danaus hamata pallidulaTalbot, 1943
  • Danaus hamata subnubilaTalbot, 1943
  • Danaida (Tirumala) melissa coarctataJoicey & Talbot, 1922
  • Danais obscurataButler, 1874
  • Danaida gariataFruhstorfer, 1910
  • Danaus hamata insignisTalbot, 1943
  • Danais neptuniaC. & R. Felder, [1865]
  • Danais claribellaButler, 1882
  • Danaida hamata neptunia f. protoneptuniaPoulton, 1924
  • Danais melittulaHerrich-Schäffer, 1869

Tirumala hamata, the dark tiger, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is distributed from the Philippines to Australia and Pacific oceanic islands such as Samoa. In Australia, the butterflies perform mass migrations to the south in some years. In April 1995, the butterfly made a rare migratory journey to New Zealand, coinciding with the appearance of Hypolimnas bolina on the islands. [2]

The wingspan is about 70 mm. Adults have black wings with blue spots. They are grey with black bands between segments and orange lateral lines and a black head with white markings. Adults have been observed scratching the leaves of Heliotropium amplexicaule and Parsonsia straminea , possibly to suck out moisture, [3] or to obtain pyrrolizidine alkaloids for pheromone production and/or chemical defense. [4]

The larvae feed on a wide range of plants including Parsonsia (including Parsonsia straminea and Parsonsia velutina ), Heterostemma papuana , Heterostemma acuminatum , Hoya australis , Leichhardtia , Marsdenia (including Marsdenia velutina ), Secanome carnosum , Secamone elliptica , Vincetoxicum (syn. Tylophora), Cryptostegia grandiflora , Cynanchum carnosum , and Cynanchum leptolepis .

Subspecies

References

  1. Tirumala at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. Early, John W.; Parrish, G. Richard; Ryan, Paddy A. (1995). "An Invasion of Australian Blue Moon and Blue Tiger Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in New Zealand". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum . 32: 45–53. ISSN   0067-0464. JSTOR   42906451. Wikidata   Q58677481.
  3. Australian Insects
  4. Ackery, P. R., Vane-Wright, R. I. 1984. Milkweed Butterflies. London/Ithaca NY: British Museum of Natural History/Cornell University Press.