Hypolimnas anomala

Hypolimnas anomala, commonly known as the Malayan eggfly or crow eggfly, is a species of eggfly butterly.^[2]

Hypolimnas anomala
Hypolimnas anomala. Dorsal view
Side view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Hypolimnas
Species:	H. anomala
Binomial name
Hypolimnas anomala (Wallace, 1869)[1]
Synonyms
Diadema anomala Wallace, 1869 Hypolimnas nivas Fruhstorfer, 1912 Hypolimnas discandra Weymer, 1885 Hypolimnas antilope arnoldi Fruhstorfer, 1903 Diadema insterstincta Butler, 1873 Diadema wallaceana Butler, 1873 Hypolimnas sumbawana Pagenstecher, 1898 Hypolimnata anomala stellata Fruhstorfer, 1912

Subspecies

Subspecies include:^[1]

• Hypolimnas anomala anomala (southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaya, Singapore, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Palawan, Philippines, Bali, Lombok, Enggano, Bawean)
• Hypolimnas anomala arnoldi Fruhstorfer, 1903 (Kangean, Sumbawa, Flores)
• Hypolimnas anomala discandra Weymer, 1885 (Nias)
• Hypolimnas anomala euvaristos Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Philippines: Mindanao)
• Hypolimnas anomala interstincta (Butler, 1873) (Borneo)
• Hypolimnas anomala stellata (Fruhstorfer, 1912) (Sulawesi, Buton, Kabaena, Bangai, Sula)
• Hypolimnas anomala sumbawana Pagenstecher, 1898 (Sumbawa)
• Hypolimnas anomala truentus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Philippines: Luzon and possibly Babuyanes)
• Hypolimnas anomala wallaceana (Butler, 1873) (Sulawesi)

Distribution and habitat

This species is present as various subspecies in Southeast Asia (Moluccas, New Guinea, Australia).^[1] It especially occurs in lowlands and tropical rainforests, wastelands, hill parks and natural reserves.

Description

Hypolimnas anomala in Singapore. Video clip

Hypolimnas anomala can reach a wingspan of 65–75 mm (2.6–3.0 in).^[3] These butterflies have brown forewings with a purple sheen. They show variable white markings. Usually there are a double row of white marginal spots and three pale streaks on each forewing. The hindwings are rather paler, with dark brown veins. The undersides of both wings are similar to the uppersides. In the adult butterflies only four legs are present.^[4] These butterflies mimic Euploea species.

Biology

Females lay gold-colored globular eggs in a large cluster on the underside of the leaves. They hatch after about 3–4 days. The 6th (and final) instar caterpillars are black with yellow spots and spines. Also, the head is yellow. with long black cephalic horns. They are gregarious and usually occur in large numbers.

They feed on leaves of Urticaceae (Pipturus argenteus, Pipturus arboresceus, Pouzolzia, Villebrunea species ) and Euphorbiaceae (Claoxylon).^[4][5][6][7]

Gallery

• 
  Guarding eggs on host plant, Pipturus argenteus. Tanguisson, Guam
• 
  Caterpillars foraging host plant, Pipturus argentues. Tanguisson, Guam
• 
  Caterpillar foraging on Pipturus argenteus leaf. Tanguisson, Guam
• 
  Chrysalis
• 
  Dorsal view with blue wings
• 
  Dorsal view with blue wings. Tanguisson, Guam

References

External links

• Tree of Life

Bibliography

• Corbet AS, Pendlebury HM, and Eliot JN. 1992. The butterflies of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Nature Society, Kuala Lumpur.
• Parsons M. 1999. The butterflies of Papua New Guinea: their systematics and biology. Academic Press, San Diego.
• Michael F. Braby, Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 566–567.