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Genus: Dryasa Hübner, 1847
Species: iulia Fabricius, 1775
Sub-species: modesta
Wingspan of Grownup Butterfly: 82-92mm
Caterpillar Native Host Plant: Passiflora suberosa (Passifloraceae, frequent title: corky-stemmed ardour flower).
Bodily Description of Grownup Butterfly:
Julia Heliconian is a narrow-winged butterfly with elongated forewings. On the upperside, the wings are shiny orange within the male and duller orange within the feminine. There are black borders alongside the wing margin, with these within the feminine broader and extra in depth. On the underside, the wings for each sexes are paler in comparison with the upperside, and are adorned with brown markings within the cell, in post-discal space in addition to alongside the wing margins. A small pinky purple patch happens within the basal space of each wings.
Subject Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
The Julia Heliconian is a current addition to the Singapore butterfly guidelines, with the primary sighting reported in June this yr. Just like Tawny Coster, Julia Heliconian follows the identical southward migration path from Thailand, via Malaysia and reaching Singapore in just a few years. The primary identified native inhabitants is present in Lazarus and St. John islands the place the adults will be sighted simply since August. Lately, the brand new emigrant has additionally been sighted with growing frequency on the mainland. The adults are fast in flight and never straightforward to {photograph}. Usually, pictures alternatives come up when the butterflies go to flowers akin to these of Lantana or Leea indica.
Early Levels:
A video clip exhibiting the assorted early phases and key developments of a Julia Heliconian caterpillar.
Domestically, caterpillars of the Julia Heliconian have been discovered to feed on leaves and stems of Passiflora suberosa. This plant is a quick rising weed and generally discovered in lots of elements of Singapore in each city and forest settings. It’s also used because the larval host plant by the Tawny Coster.
Native host plant: Passiflora suberosa.
A mating pair of the Julia Heliconian.
Eggs of the Julia Heliconian are laid singly on a slender stem or a tendril of the host plant. The stem or tendril the place the egg is deposited on very often is a part of the useless portion of the passiflora vine.
A feminine Julia Heliconian ovipositing on a stem of its host plant, Passiflora suberosa, in Kuala Lumpur in 2015.
The yellowish egg is barrel-shaped and its floor is marked with small rectangular to hexagonal pits. The micropylar sits atop the egg. Every tiny egg has a diameter of about 0.9mm, and a peak of about 1.2mm. After sooner or later, the egg turns into mottled with reddish brown paches.
An egg of the Julia Heliconian laid on a useless stem of the host plant.
Maturing egg of the Julia Heliconian. Left: sooner or later previous; Proper: three days previous. The egg was laid on reside stem of the host plant.
The egg takes about 3.5 days to hatch. The younger caterpillar emerges by consuming away a part of the egg shell. The remaining or a part of the remaining egg shell turns into the primary meal for the newly hatched which is about 2.4mm in size. It has a cylindrical and yellowish brown lined with many small tubercles and reasonably lengthy setae. The dorso-lateral and lateral bands of tubercles are indistinctly whitish. The top capsule is yellowish brown with no markings.
Two views of a newly hatched caterpillar of the Julia Heliconian, size: 2.4mm.
The first instar caterpillar feeds on the lamina of leaves. It has the behavior of chopping a slender strip from the leaf blade and relaxation on it between feeds. The physique color takes on a pale yellowish inexperienced undertone because it grows. The white tubercles as a result of rather more outstanding because the the physique grows. After reaching about 5-5.5mm in 2.5 days, the caterpillar moults to the 2nd instar.
Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, size: 3.8mm.
Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, size: 5.4mm.
A 1st instar caterpillar resting on an extended strip of lamina reduce from the aspect of a leaf.
A late 1st instar caterpillar, previous to its moult.
The physique of the 2nd instar caterpillar is yellowish brown. Reasonably lengthy processes, black in color, run alongside the size of the physique. Every course of has numerous brief spines emanating from it laterally. On both sides of the physique, there are three sequence of such processes: One sequence happens dorso-laterally, one other lateraly and the final sub-spiracularly. Many of the tubercles on the base of those processess are whitish. There are additionally small white patches mendacity between these tubercles. The top capsule is yellowish brown with two brief and black cephalic spines. The second instar caterpillar retains the identical behavior of chopping a strip of lamina and resting on it. This instar lasts about 2 days with the physique size reaching about 8mm.
Two views of an early 2nd instar caterpillar, size: 6mm.
Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, size: 8mm.
A 2nd instar caterpillar resting on an extended strip of lamina.
A late 2nd instar caterpillar, previous to its moult.
The third instar caterpillar has the dorso-lateral, lateral processes and cephalic processes proportionately longer and black in colour. The physique base color is darkish yellowish brown and the white patches masking the physique floor is extra in depth than within the 2nd instar. The top capsule continues to be yellowish brown with the adfrontal space in a a lot paler shade of yellowish brown. This instar takes about 2 days to finish with physique size reaching about 11-12mm. Within the third instar, the caterpillar swith from chopping a strip of leaf lamina to chopping the apical portion of a leaf.
An early third instar caterpillar. Inset: one other view of the pinnacle.
Two views of a third instar caterpillar, size: 13mm.
A third instar caterpillar resting on the cut-out fragment on the apex of a leaf.
A late third instar caterpillar, previous to its moult.
The 4th instar caterpillar carefully resembles the third instar caterpillar. It has proportionately longer processes, and rather more in depth and outstanding whitish markings on the physique as in comparison with these within the third instar. On this instar, the caterpillar retains the behavior of chopping the apical portion of the leaf. This penultimate instar lasts about 2 days with the physique size reaching about 18-19mm.
A newly moulted 4th instar caterpillar. Inset: a frontal view of the pinnacle.
Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, size: 18mm.
A 4th instar caterpillar resting on a leaf fragment reduce from the apical a part of the leaf.
A late 4th instar caterpillar, previous to its moult.
The fifth (and ultimate) instar caterpillar differs from the 4th instar caterpillar in having the frontal aspect of the pinnacle black in color, adfrontal space whitish and the remainder (again of the pinnacle) yellowish to orangy brown. As well as, the physique base collour is now pale pinky to purplish brown. The physique floor is embellished with many small and transvese black patches/bands. Massive and whitish patches line the decrease aspect of the physique.
A newly moulted fifth instar caterpillar of the Julia Heliconian.
A fifth instar caterpillar feeding on a stem of the host plant. Inset: entrance view of the pinnacle.
Two views of a fifth instar caterpillar, size: 34mm.
The fifth instar lasts for 3.5-4 days, and the physique size reaches as much as 34-35mm. On the final 0.5 day, the physique shortens and the caterpillar ceases feeding and wanders round. Ultimately it stops at a spot on the underside of a stem, and spins a silk pad from which it hangs vertically to tackle the pre-J-shaped pupatory pose.
Two views of a pre-pupatory larva of the Julia Heliconian.
Pupation takes place about 10-11 hours later. The pupa suspends itself from the silk pad through the cremaster attachment. It’s virtually totally white and bears just a few small, black patches dorsally. The thorax is prominently keeled. Dorso-laterally, alongside the physique size, there are pairs of brief dorso-lateral processes. There are additionally pairs of silverish dorso-lateral patches on the primary two belly segments. Size of pupae: 23-24mm.
The pupation occasion of a Julia Heliconian caterpillar .
Three views of a pupa of the Julia Heliconian. Left: lateral view. Center: ventral view. Proper: dorsal view.
Three views of a mature pupa of the Julia Heliconian.
After about 5-6 days of improvement, the pupal colour darkens, particularly so within the wing pads and thorax. The eclosion occasion takes place the subsequent day, sometimes within the morning hours.
The eclosion occasion of a feminine Julia Heliconian.
A newly eclosed male Julia Heliconian resting on its pupal case.
A newly eclosed feminine Julia Heliconian resting on its pupal case.
The eclosion sequence of a Julia Heliconian.
References:
- The
Julia Heliconian’s Samba Continues, Khew SK, ButterflyCircle Weblog, Might 2015.
- Inferring the Provenance of an Alien Species with DNA Barcodes: The Neotropical
Butterfly Dryas iulia in Thailand. Burg NA, Pradhan A, Gonzalez RM, Morban EZ, Zhen EW, et al. PLoS ONE 9(8): e104076. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104076, 2014. -
Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Version, 2012.
Textual content by Horace Tan, Photographs by Tai Lung Aik, Gavin Gareth Chan, Loh Mei Yee, Khew SK and Horace Tan, Movies by Loh Mei Yee and Horace Tan.
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