Tirumala limniace

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Blue tiger
Blue tiger (Tirumala limniace exoticus).jpg
Blue tiger (Tirumala limniace exoticus) male underside.jpg
Underside of male
both in Kerala, India
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Tirumala
Species:
T. limniace
Binomial name
Tirumala limniace
(Cramer, [1775])
Subspecies

See text

Tirumala limniace - Distribution.png
Synonyms
  • Papilio limniaceCramer, [1775]
  • Danais limniace fruhstorferivan Eecke, 1915
  • Danaida limniace kuchinganaMoulton, 1915

Tirumala limniace, the blue tiger, [1] [2] is a butterfly found in South Asia, and Southeast Asia [1] [2] that belongs to the brush-footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae. [3] More specifically it is part of the crows and tigers or danaid group. This butterfly shows gregarious migratory behaviour in southern India. In some places, it may be found in congregations with Danaus genutia , Tirumala septentrionis , Euploea sylvester , Euploea core , Parantica aglea , and at high elevations, with Parantica nilgiriensis , on Crotalaria .

Contents

Description

Tirumala limniace is a small butterfly with wide wings. It has a wingspan of 90 to 100 millimeters, with the males being smaller than the females. The upper side of the wing is dark brown to black and patterned with bluish-white, semi-transparent spots and lines. [3] The blue of the bluish-white spots consists of the pigment pterobilin. In general, all butterflies can directly absorb heat from the sun via their wings to facilitate autonomous flight. Studies on blue tiger butterflies show that high-intensity light significantly increased flight activity. Blue tiger butterflies have a wing surface color that is composed of both light and dark colors. The dark areas on the wing surfaces are the heat absorption areas that allow for the facilitation of autonomous flight.

In cell 1b of the forewing, which, like all the others, is an area on the wing bounded by veins, run two strips, sometimes connected, after which there is a large spot. A stripe runs from the base of the discoid cell, followed by a large spot that is notched from the wing tip (apex). A large oval spot sits at the base of cell 2, a significantly smaller spot is at the base of cell 3, followed by a small spot. Five short stripes can be seen in the post-disk region on the leading edge, only two of which are clearly defined. Two rows of irregular points run submarginally, the inner ones being larger than the outer ones. There is a stripe in cell 1a on the hind wing. A strip that divides from the base also runs through cells 1b and 1c. In the discoid cell there is a wide dividing strip. The lower branch hooks or has a short spur-like base. At the base of cells 2 and 3 there is a thin, V-shaped arch. In cells 2 and 5 there is a strong, wide stripe at the base. Two rows of scattered, irregular points also run submarginally, the inner ones being larger than the outer ones.

The males differ from the females by a black pocket filled with scented scales in cell 1c, near the discoid cell on the upper side of the hind wings. The pockets are only created after hatching while the moth inflates its wings by turning up scented flakes. They play an important role in courtship, along with tufts of hair that can be turned out on the abdomen. The hairs sprout almost only from the rear third of the tuft of hair, a typical feature of the Danaini genera grouped under the clade Danaina.

The underside of the forewing is black, only the apex, like the underside of the hind wings, is olive-brown. The pattern largely corresponds to the top.

The antennae are black, as are the head and thorax, these two still bearing white dots and lines. The top of the abdomen is dark, the underside is pale brownish yellow colored with white shimmering underneath at the segment boundaries

Life cycle

Food plants

The butterfly larvae generally feed on plants of family Asclepiadaceae. The recorded host plants are: [4]

Larva

Yellowish white; 3rd and 12th segments, each with a pair of fleshy filaments, black and greenish white; each of the segments with four transverse black bars, the second bar on all broader than the others, bifurcated laterally, a yellow longitudinal line on each side; head, feet and claspers spotted with black. [4] The larva is around 1.21 centimetres (0.48 in) in length and weighs around 5 milligrams (0.077 gr) initially, but grows double that size and four times that weight within 48 hours.

Pupa

"Green with golden scattered spots and beaded dorsal crescent". (Frederic Moore quoted in Bingham) [4]

Range

The species is distributed in South Asia and Southeast Asia. [1] [2] In 2019, a single adult specimen was reported from the Balearic Islands, marking it the first record of the species in Europe. [5]

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically: [2]

Habits

Blue Tigers congregating with a common crow butterfly in Kolkata, West Bengal, India Blue Tigers & Comon Indian Crow I IMG 9772.jpg
Blue Tigers congregating with a common crow butterfly in Kolkata, West Bengal, India

This species migrates extensively during the monsoons in southern India. The migratory populations have been observed to consist nearly entirely of males. [6] It is also known to mud-puddle during migration. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Euploea core</i> Species of butterfly

Euploea core, the common crow, is a common butterfly found in South Asia to Australia. In India it is also sometimes referred to as the common Indian crow, and in Australia as the Australian crow. It belongs to the crows and tigers subfamily Danainae.

<i>Phalanta phalantha</i> Species of butterfly

Phalanta phalantha, the common leopard or spotted rustic, is a sun-loving butterfly of the nymphalid or brush-footed butterfly family.

<i>Parantica aglea</i> Species of butterfly

Parantica aglea, the glassy tiger, is a butterfly found in Indomalayan realm that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.

<i>Danaus genutia</i> Species of butterfly

Danaus genutia, the common tiger, is one of the common butterflies of India. It belongs to the "crows and tigers", that is, the Danainae group of the brush-footed butterflies family. The butterfly is also called striped tiger in India to differentiate it from the equally common plain tiger, Danaus chrysippus. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1779.

<i>Elymnias hypermnestra</i> Species of butterfly

Elymnias hypermnestra, the common palmfly, is a species of satyrine butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia.

<i>Spialia galba</i> Species of butterfly

Spialia galba, the Indian grizzled skipper, is a hesperiid butterfly which is found in South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.

<i>Hypolimnas bolina</i> Species of butterfly

Hypolimnas bolina, the great eggfly, common eggfly, varied eggfly or in New Zealand the blue moon butterfly is a species of nymphalid butterfly found from Madagascar to Asia and Australia.

<i>Graphium nomius</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium nomius, the spot swordtail, is a butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia that belongs to the swallowtail family. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1793. One of the grandest sights is a host of spot swordtails mud-puddling or swarming around a flowering forest tree.

<i>Papilio agestor</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio (Chilasa) agestor, the tawny mime, is a swallowtail butterfly, native to Indian subcontinent and widely found across Asia. The butterfly belongs to the mime subgenus, Chilasa, of the genus Papilio or the black-bodied swallowtails.

<i>Papilio clytia</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio clytia, the common mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in south and southeast Asia. The butterfly belongs to the subgenus Chilasa, the black-bodied swallowtails. It serves as an excellent example of a Batesian mimic among the Indian butterflies.

<i>Papilio slateri</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio (Chilasa) slateri, the blue striped mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found across south and south-east Asia. The butterfly belongs to the mime subgenus, Chilasa, of the genus Papilio, the black-bodied swallowtails. The nominate subspecies is found in India and is also called the brown mime. It is a good example of mimicry among Indian butterflies.

<i>Eurema blanda</i> Species of butterfly

Eurema blanda, the three-spot grass yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae which is found in Sri Lanka, India and southeast Asia.

<i>Parantica sita</i> Species of butterfly

Parantica sita, the chestnut tiger, is a butterfly found in Asia that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.

<i>Parantica nilgiriensis</i> Species of butterfly

Parantica nilgiriensis, the Nilgiri tiger, is a butterfly found in the Western Ghats of India south of the Konkan. It belongs to the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.

<i>Tirumala septentrionis</i> Species of butterfly

Tirumala septentrionis, the dark blue tiger, is a danaid butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

<i>Euploea mulciber</i> Species of butterfly

Euploea mulciber, the striped blue crow, is a butterfly found in India and Southeast Asia that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.

<i>Euploea klugii</i> Species of butterfly

Euploea klugii, the brown king crow or king crow, is a Nymphalid butterfly found in India and Southeast Asia that belongs to the danaid group of the brush-footed butterfly family. The species was first described by Frederic Moore in 1858.

<i>Lampides boeticus</i> Species of butterfly

Lampides boeticus, the pea blue, or long-tailed blue, is a small butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or gossamer-winged family.

<i>Ideopsis vulgaris</i> Species of butterfly

Ideopsis vulgaris, the blue glassy tiger, is a butterfly that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Varshney, R.K.; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN   978-81-929826-4-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Savela, Markku. "Tirumala limniace (Cramer, [1775])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Krushnamegh Kunte (2000). India, a Lifescape: Butterflies of Peninsular India. Universities Press. p. 143. ISBN   9788173713545.
  4. 1 2 3 PD-icon.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Bingham, Charles Thomas (1907). Fauna of British India. Butterflies Vol. 2. Taylor & Francis. p. 16.
  5. ↑ Truyols-Henares, Francisco; Febrer-Serra, Maria; Lassnig, Nil; Perelló, Esperanza; Medina-Torrecabota, Mercedes; Pinya, Samuel (2019). "From Asia to Europe: The first record of the blue tiger Tirumala limniace (Cramer, [1775]) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae) in the European continent". Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology. 22 (4): 1187–1188. doi:10.1016/j.aspen.2019.10.011. S2CID   208566328.
  6. ↑ Kunte, Krushnamegh (2005). "Species composition, sex-ratios and movement patterns in Danaine butterfly migrations in southern India". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 102 (3): 280–286.
  7. ↑ Mathew, G.; Binoy, C.F. (2002). "Migration of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) in the New Amarambalam Reserve Forest of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve" (PDF). Zoos' Print Journal. 17 (8): 844–847. doi: 10.11609/jott.zpj.17.8.844-7 .
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