Moduza procris

Last updated

Commander
Sahyadri Commander (Moduza procris undifragus).jpg
Commander (M. p. undifragus) from Mangaon, Maharashtra, India
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Moduza
Species:
M. procris
Binomial name
Moduza procris
(Cramer, 1777)
Synonyms

Limenitis procris(Cramer, 1777)

Moduza procris, the commander, [1] [2] sometimes included in the genus Limenitis , is a medium-sized, strikingly coloured brush-footed butterfly found in South Asia and Southeast Asia. [1] [2] It is notable for the mode of concealment employed by its caterpillar and the cryptic camouflage of its pupa.

Contents

Description

The commander has a wingspan of about 6 to 7.5 cm (2.4 to 3.0 in). The upperside of its wings are a bright reddish brown. Towards the centre of the wing are broad white spots. In flight, one can see a bright red brown butterfly with a white band forming a V shape. There are also a few white spots scattered on the wings. Its hindwings have crenulated margins. The undersides of the wings are a whitish grey toward the base and have a row of dull reddish brown and a row of black spots along the margins. The male and female are similar in appearance. [3] [4]

Male and female. Upper side, ground colour rich ferruginous-red, the basal area slightly tinged with olivescent yellowish-ferruginous. Cilia alternately black and white. Forewing with three black slender bars crossing the cell, and three similar bars below the cell between the basal interspaces of the middle and lower medians; beyond the cell is a large outwardly-oblique pure bluish-white more or less triangulate spot followed by a transverse discal macular band, broadest in the dry-season brood, composed of a series of large broad pure bluish-white spots proceeding from the costa to the posterior margin, of which the upper five are subapical and disposed obliquely outward, the third and fourth being ovate, the upper two very slender and divided by the second subcostal branch, the fifth much the smallest; the next four are disposed somewhat obliquely inward and are much larger, the sixth (or upper) triangularly ovate, the seventh longest and bluntly ovate or somewhat quadrate, the eighth quadrate with its outer edge indented, and the lowest narrow; all these white spots are bordered with black, which colour broadly extends from the cell along the costa and thence decreases hindward; beyond is an outer marginal broad lunularly inner-edged, or occasionally dentate, black waved band, which is traversed by two contiguous slender grey sinuous marginal lines. Hindwing with three black slender bars crossing the cell, and a small spot between the basal interspaces of the veins above the cell; a transverse medial discal broad pure bluish-white macular black-bordered band terminating at the submedian, its inner edge somewhat regular and its outer edge scalloped; followed by an outer discal row of black ill-shaped cordate spots, which are more or less obsolescent posteriorly, or occasionally entirely absent, a similar submarginal row of smaller dentate spots, and then a contiguous narrow waved black marginal band traversed by two slender grey sinuous lines. Underside. Basal area bluish or olive-grey, the outer discal area and the apical veins of forewing bright red; discocellular spot on forewing and transverse discal macular band, as above, bluish-white or greyish-white and black bordered; basal bars black, with the interspace between the middle cell bars and of those below the cell on the forewing bright red; marginal markings as above, except that the marginal sinuous fines are violet-grey, and the inner line broadly encompassing the submarginal black spots on the hindwing. Body above red; palpi above black, beneath greenish-white; body beneath and legs bluish-grey; antennse black, tip reddish beneath; eyes bronzy-brown.

Range

Subspecies: [1] [2]

Range within India

Sri Lanka, Peninsular India, the Himalayas east of the Dun valley, through Kumaon, Nepal, Sikkim to Assam, Arunachal, and onto Myanmar. Locally abundant, it is common from Sri Lanka to Maharashtra. It is rare in Gujarat and far more common in the Himalayas.

Ecology

The commander is generally found in forested regions having moderate to heavy rainfall. It usually keeps to low elevations, that is, up to 900 metres (3,000 ft) into the hills.

It is fond of open glades, roadsides and clearings in forests. It is abundant along watercourses in dry and moist deciduous forests. It is also found close to villages or wherever its larval host plant Mussaenda frondosa is found. It is most common in the post-monsoon months and winter.

The commander can often be spotted basking with its wings pressed flat on exposed stones in streambeds. Individuals settle down on an exposed perch high up in the trees during the heat of the day. At this time it can be seen defending its territory and driving intruding butterflies away.

This butterfly has a swift flight with rapid wingbeats and alternate spurts of smooth gliding. A powerful flier, it nevertheless flies for short distances at a time. Being wary, it maintains its distance and is best caught when engrossed in mud-puddling or feeding from flowers. It regularly visits flowers from low-lying herbs to high up in the trees. Though this is a mud-puddling species, in Borneo and probably elsewhere, adults do not visit carrion or old fruit to drink liquids. [5]

Host plants

Most of the larval host plants belong to the family Rubiaceae.

Life cycle

Pupa in natural pose Commander pupa.jpg
Pupa in natural pose

Egg

The female commander lays a single egg on the underside of the tip of a leaf of the food plant. The egg is hairy and greenish and looks like a green strawberry. The egg hatches in 3 to 4 days.

Frass chain of the commander caterpillar, used for defence Commander frass chain.jpg
Frass chain of the commander caterpillar, used for defence

Caterpillar

The caterpillar is dirty brown with a chestnut tinge and dark brown splotches all over. The body also bears numerous processes which help to break up its outline. The behaviour of this caterpillar is very interesting in that it is one of the species of butterfly that makes long chains of frass. It eats up part of the leaf it is on and uses bits of leaves which are strung up with silk along with droppings. The caterpillar rests on the exposed mid-rib of a leaf after removing the leafy portions on the sides. This behaviour may be to dissuade ants from crossing over the chain of frass behind which the caterpillar rests.

Pupa

Before pupating, the caterpillar wanders around, often far away from the plant it fed on. It pupates among dried leaves and twigs. The pupa is brownish and rough in texture. It is angular with prominent wing expansions and bears flat processes on the head which curl together making a hole between them. It also has numerous lines and markings that make it look like a rolled up dried leaf.

Footnotes

  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, New Delhi. p. 198. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN   978-81-929826-4-9.
  2. 1 2 3 Savela, Markku. "Moduza procris (Cramer, [1777])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  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 (1905). Fauna of British India. Butterflies Vol. 1. pp. 291–293.
  4. 1 2 PD-icon.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Moore, Frederic (1896–1899). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. III. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 161–167.
  5. Hamer et al. (2006)

Related Research Articles

<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>Dodona dipoea</i> Species of butterfly

Dodona dipoea, the lesser Punch, is a small but striking butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm that belongs to the Punches and Judies, that is, the family Riodinidae.

<i>Appias lalage</i> Small butterfly of the family Pieridae

Appias lalage, the spot puffin, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in India, Indochina and Hainan.

<i>Appias libythea</i> Small butterfly of the family Pieridae

Appias libythea, the striped albatross, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in south and southeast Asia.

<i>Miletus symethus</i> Species of butterfly

Miletus symethus, the great brownie, is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777.

<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.

<i>Acytolepis puspa</i> Species of butterfly

Acytolepis puspa, the common hedge blue, is a small butterfly found in Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapur, Yunnan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Borneo and New Guinea that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Thomas Horsfield in 1828.

<i>Athyma ranga</i> Species of butterfly

Athyma ranga, the blackvein sergeant, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in south-west India, Cambodia and parts of Southeast Asia.

<i>Athyma perius</i> Species of butterfly

Athyma perius, the common sergeant, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

<i>Cupha erymanthis</i> Species of butterfly

Cupha erymanthis, the rustic, is a species of brush-footed butterfly found in forested areas of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. The males and females are identical.

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

Phalanta alcippe, the small leopard, is a butterfly of the nymphalid or brush-footed butterfly family found in Asia.

<i>Argynnis hyperbius</i> Species of butterfly

The Indian fritillary is a species of butterfly of the nymphalid or brush-footed family. It is usually found from south and southeast Asia to Australia.

<i>Neptis nata</i> Species of butterfly

Neptis nata, the clear sailer or dirty sailer, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in south and southeast Asia.

<i>Neptis clinia</i> Species of butterfly

Neptis clinia, the southern sullied sailer or clear sailer, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

<i>Tajuria jehana</i> Species of butterfly

Tajuria jehana, the plains blue royal, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in Asia.

<i>Tajuria cippus</i> Species of butterfly

Tajuria cippus, the peacock royal, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm.

<i>Horaga onyx</i> Species of butterfly

Horaga onyx, the common onyx, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm.

<i>Chliaria othona</i> Species of butterfly

Chliaria othona, the orchid tit, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in Asia.

<i>Charaxes psaphon</i> Species of butterfly

Charaxes psaphon, plain tawny rajah, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It was described by John Obadiah Westwood in 1847. It is found in the Indomalayan realm.

References