''Spalgis epius'', the apefly, is a small
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...
found in the
Indomalayan realm that belongs to the
lycaenids or blues family.
It gets its name from the supposed resemblance of its pupa to the face of an
ape.
Description
Male
Upperside: dull brown, slightly darker towards the apex of the forewing; also a more or less quadrate whitish spot beyond the apex of the cell on the same wing; in some specimens this spot is slightly diffuse. Underside: pale, silky, brownish white; forewings and hindwings crossed by numerous, very slender, short, sinuous, transverse, dark brown strigae which are outwardly slenderly edged with brownish white of a shade paler than that of the ground colour; both wings with an anteciliary dark brown line with on the inner side a similar edging. Forewing, in addition, with an oval white spot beyond the cell. Cilia of both forewings and hindwings of the same shade as the ground colour of the wings. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen pale brown, club of antennae ochraceous at apex; beneath: the palpi and thorax brownish grey, abdomen pale brown.
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Female
Upperside: slightly paler brown. Forewing: the cell and apex darker; a white spot similar to that in the male but larger, beyond the apex of the cell; in most specimens extended diffusely outwards and downwards. Hindwing: similar to that of the male. Underside: precisely as in the male.
Life cycle
Image:Apefly First-instar.jpg, Apefly first-instar caterpillar
Image:Spalgis epius Cat early instar.JPG, Apefly second-instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow o ...
caterpillar
Image:Spalgis epius cat later instar.JPG, Third-instar caterpillar
Image:Spalgis epius cat final instar.JPG, Final-instar caterpillar
Image:Apefly Spalgis epius Pupa (3666792277).jpg, Pupa
Image:Freshly Eclosed Spalgis epius.JPG, Freshly eclosed apefly butterfly
The caterpillars of this butterfly, like other members of the subfamily Miletinae
Miletinae is a subfamily of the family Lycaenidae of butterflies, commonly called harvesters and woolly legs, and virtually unique among butterflies in having predatory larvae. Miletinae are entirely aphytophagous (do not feed on plants). The eco ...
, are entomophagous and are predators of scale insect
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than th ...
s like mealybug
Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Many species are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a ...
s. The species unlike many other lycaenid butterflies is not myrmecophilous (it has no mutualistic associations with ants).[Venkatesha, M. G. (2005)]
"Why is homopterophagous butterfly, ''Spalgis epius'' (Westwood) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) amyrmecophilous?"
''Current Science''. 89 (2): 245–246. – via Internet Archive.
Subspecies
*''S. e. epeus'' (India, Sri Lanka to Peninsular Malaya, Nicobars, Mergui and southern Yunnan)
*''S. e. dilama'' (Moore, 1878) (Taiwan)
*''S. e. fangola'' (Kheil, 1884) (Sumatra, Nias, possibly Borneo)
*''S. e. nubilus'' Moore, 884
__NOTOC__
Year 884 ( DCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* March 1 – Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, count of Castile, founds and repo ...
/small> (Andamans, Pulau Tioman)
*''S. e. pharnus'' Felder, 1860 (Kai, Buru, Ambon, Halmahera, West Irian)
*''S. e. semperi'' Fruhstorfer, 1919 (northern Philippines, Luzon)
*''S. e. strigatus'' Semper, 1889 (southern to central Philippines)
*''S. e. substrigata'' (Snellen, 1878) (Sulawesi)
*''S. e. titius'' Fruhstorfer, 1919 (Java, Bali, Sumba, Sumbawa, possibly Damar and Lombok)
Cited references
See also
* List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)
References
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External links
* With images.
{{Taxonbar , from=Q7573002
Butterflies described in 1851
Miletinae
Butterflies of Asia
Butterflies of Singapore
Butterflies of Borneo
Butterflies of Indochina