Euploea core
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File:Euploea core at thachangad.jpg ''Euploea core'', the common crow, is a common butterfly found in
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
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 Danainae is a subfamily of the family Nymphalidae, the brush-footed butterflies. It includes the Daniadae, or milkweed butterflies, who lay their eggs on various milkweeds on which their larvae (caterpillars) feed, as well as the clearwing butt ...
(tribe
Danaini The Danaini are a tribe of brush-footed butterflies ( family Nymphalidae). The tribe's type genus ''Danaus'' contains the well-known monarch butterfly (''D. plexippus'') and is also the type genus of the tribe's subfamily, the milkweed butterflie ...
). ''E. core'' is a glossy-black, medium-sized butterfly with rows of white spots on the margins of its wings. ''E. core'' is a slow, steady flier. Due to its unpalatability it is usually observed gliding through the air with a minimum of effort. As caterpillars, this species sequesters toxins from its food plant which are passed on from larva to pupa to the adult. While feeding, it is a very bold butterfly, taking a long time at each bunch of flowers. It can also be found
mud-puddling Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck ...
with others of its species and often in mixed groups. The males of this species visit plants like ''
Crotalaria ''Crotalaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Faboideae) commonly known as rattlepods. The genus includes over 700 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs. Africa is the continent with the majority of ''Crotalari ...
'' and ''
Heliotropium ''Heliotropium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the heliotrope family, Heliotropiaceae. There are around 325 species in this almost cosmopolitan genus, which are commonly known as heliotropes (sg. ). It is highly toxic for dogs and cats. ...
'' to replenish pheromone stocks which are used to attract a female during courtship. The common crow is the most common representative of its genus, ''Euploea''. Like the tigers (genus '' Danaus''), the crows are inedible and thus mimicked by other Indian butterflies (see Batesian mimicry). In addition, the Indian species of the genus ''Euploea'' show another kind of mimicry,
Müllerian mimicry Müllerian mimicry is a natural phenomenon in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and sharing common predators, have come to mimic each other's honest warning signals, to their mutual benefit. The benefit to Mülleria ...
. Accordingly, this species has been studied in greater detail than other members of its genus in India.


Description

The common crow is a glossy-black butterfly with brown undersides with white markings along the outer margins of both wings. The wingspan is about 8–9 cm and the body has prominent white spots. The male has a velvety black brand located near the rear edge on the upperside of the forewing. On the underside there is a white streak in the same location. This white streak is present in both male and female. In its natural position this streak is hidden behind the hindwing and can be seen only when the butterfly is captured and observed closely. Excerpt from ''Fauna of British India: Butterflies'', volume 1:


Subspecies

Subspecies of ''Euploea core'' are as follows: *''E. c. amymone'' (Godart, 1819) *''E. c. andamanensis'' Atkinson, 1874Andaman crow *''E. c. asela'' Moore, 1877 – (Sri Lanka) spots are very small and the terminal spots vanish to the apex. *''E. c. bauermanni'' Röber, 1885 *''E. c. charox'' Kirsch, 1877 *''E. c. core'' (Cramer, 1780) – (North India) spots are more or less equal or reduce in size. *''E. c. distanti'' Moore, 1882 *''E. c. godarti'' Lucas, 1853 *''E. c. graminifera'' (Moore, 1883) *''E. c. haworthi'' Lucas, 1853 *''E. c. kalaona'' Fruhstorfer, 1898 *''E. c. prunosa'' Moore, 1883 *''E. c. renellensis'' Carpenter, 1953 *''E. c. scherzeri'' Felder, 1862 – Nicobar crow *''E. c. vermiculata'' Butler, 1866 – (India) upperside forewing spots increase in size towards the apex.


Mimicry and similar species

Due to its inedibility, ''Euploea core'' is mimicked by a few edible species. Additionally a number of other inedible species within the same family mimic each other forming a Mullerian ring. The edible species are contained in the two families: *Papilionidae - Malabar raven (''
Papilio dravidarum ''Papilio dravidarum'', the Malabar raven, is an endemic species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Western Ghats of India. Description The Malabar raven is a blackish-brown tailless swallowtail butterfly, about 80 to 100 mm in size. ...
''), common mime (''
Papilio clytia ''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 th ...
'') form clytia *Nymphalidae - great eggfly ('' Hypolimnas bolina'') female, Ceylon palmfly, '' Elymnias singala'' male and female Distribution also plays a role in telling the species apart. Both Papilionids are forest dwellers and while the common mime is distributed in all forested areas in India, the Malabar raven is endemic to the Western Ghats south of Goa. The inedible species are in the same genus forming a Mullerian ring *Brown king crow ('' E. klugii'') *Double branded crow ('' E. sylvester'') Both these species differ in the number and size of brand and allied streak in the female, which can only be examined if the specimen is caught and closely examined. The double branded crow has two brands and the female has two white streaks on the underside. The brown king crow has a broad brand and the female has a short indistinct white streak on the underside


Range, habitat and habits

(''Euploea core'') with hair pencils everted to disperse
sex pheromone Sex pheromones are pheromones released by an organism to attract an individual of the same species, encourage them to mate with them, or perform some other function closely related with sexual reproduction. Sex pheromones specifically focus on ind ...
at
Sattal Sattal or Sat Tal (Hindi for "seven lakes") is an interconnected group of seven freshwater lakes situated in the Lower Himalayan Range near Bhimtal, a town of the Nainital district in Uttarakhand, India. During the British Raj, the area had a ...
India It is found in southern Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Russia, and Australia. In its range ''E. core'' is found at all elevations, right from sea level up into the mountains to . It can be observed in all layers of vegetation and in all types of regions from arid land to forested areas. It can as commonly be seen gliding over the treetops as flitting about a foot off the ground searching for nectar flowers. In thick forests it is often seen moving along open tracks or following the course of a river. The butterfly, being protected by its inedibility, has a leisurely flight. It is often seen flying about shrubs and bushes in search of its host plants. It visits a large variety of flowering plant species. When gliding ''E. core'' holds its wings at an angle just greater than the horizontal plane, maintaining its flight with a few measured wingbeats. ''E. core'' is a nectar lover and visits flowers unhurriedly. It seems to prefer bunches to individual flowers. When feeding the butterfly is unhurried and is not easily disturbed. It can be approached closely at this time. On hot days large numbers of these butterflies can be seen
mud-puddling Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck ...
on wet sand. ''E. core'' is an avid mud-puddler often congregating in huge swarms along with other ''Euploea'' species as well as other danaids. This butterfly also gathers on damaged parts of plants such as ''
Crotalaria ''Crotalaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Faboideae) commonly known as rattlepods. The genus includes over 700 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs. Africa is the continent with the majority of ''Crotalari ...
'' and ''
Heliotropium ''Heliotropium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the heliotrope family, Heliotropiaceae. There are around 325 species in this almost cosmopolitan genus, which are commonly known as heliotropes (sg. ). It is highly toxic for dogs and cats. ...
'' to forage for pyrrolizidine alkaloids which are chemicals precursors to produce
pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...
s. During courtship the males of ''E. core'' release these sex pheromones to attract females. Once a female is in the vicinity the males glide around and with the help of a couple of yellow brush like organs extending out from the tip of the abdomen they disperse the scent in the air. Along with other danaids, such as the tigers, ''E. core'' is one of the most common migrating butterfly species. Males and females in equal proportions have been seen to migrate.


Protection

The common crow is distasteful due to chemicals extracted from the latex of the food plants consumed in their caterpillar stage. Thus protected, they fly in a leisurely manner, gliding skilfully with wings held slightly above the horizontal. This indicates its protection due to inedibility to a predator. The inexperienced predator will try attacking it, but will learn soon enough to avoid this butterfly as the alkaloids in its body cause vomiting. The butterfly has tough,
leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
y wings. When attacked it shams death and oozes liquid which causes any predators to release them and become nauseous. Once released the butterfly "recovers miraculously" and flies off. Predators experience enough trauma that the characteristics of the butterfly are imprinted in memory.


Life cycle

File:CommonCrowButterfly 0482.JPG, Male dispersing pheromones File:Common Crow (Euploea core) laying egg..jpg, Female laying egg File:Euploea core egg.jpg, Egg File:Euploea core-Kadavoor-2016-09-08-002.jpg, Caterpillar on ''
Carissa carandas ''Carissa carandas'' is a species of flowering shrub in the family Apocynaceae. It produces berry-sized fruits that are commonly used as a condiment in Indian pickles and spices. It is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant that thrives well in a wide ra ...
'',
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
File:Common crow beginning of pupation.JPG, Beginning of pupation File:Chrysalis(Pupa) of a Common Crow Butterfly (Euploea core).jpg, Shiny pupa File:Common crow pupa.jpg, Another shiny pupa File:Common crow pupa last stage.JPG, Last stage of the pupa Common crows (Euploea core core).jpg, Nectaring


Eggs

Eggs are laid on the underside of young leaves of the host plants. The egg is shiny white, tall and pointed, with ribbed sides. Just before hatching the eggs turn greyish with a black top.


Caterpillar

Throughout its life the caterpillar stays on the underside of the leaves. The caterpillar is uniformly cylindrical, vividly coloured and smooth. It has alternate white and dark brown or black transverse bands. Just above the legs and
proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...
s, along the entire body is a wide orangish-red band interspersed with black spiracles. The most striking characteristics are the four pairs of long black
tentacles In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work mainl ...
. The first pair is movable and is also the longest. The tentacles are present on the 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 12th segments. The head is shiny, smooth and has alternating black and white semicircular bands. Since the host plants contain poisonous latex, the caterpillar has evolved peculiar eating habits. It first chews the midrib of the leaf, cutting off the leaf's supply of latex and then goes on to nip a few of the secondary veins of the leaf, further blocking the flow of latex. Subsequently, the caterpillar feeds on the leaf but only where the leaf's natural defences have been turned off. The caterpillar is able to tolerate the plant toxins and stores it in its fatty tissue which helps make the adult distasteful to predators. File:Euploea core (black crow) caterpillar on Allamanda leaf.webm, Video of euploea core caterpillar crawling and photos of it on allamanda leaf


Pupa

The pupa of this species is shiny golden in colour and compact. The wing margins and margins of the abdominal segments are marked with broad colourless bands. The abdomen has a pair of black spots on each segment. The cremaster is black. Just before emergence the black wings show through the skin of the pupa. The species are attacked by
parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...
flies.


Larval food plants

The common crow feeds on a large number of plants of the families * ''
Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of ...
'' (dogbanes, milkweeds and oleanders) * ''
Moraceae The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...
'' (figs) * ''
Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules a ...
'', * ''
Ulmaceae The Ulmaceae () are a family of flowering plants that includes the elms (genus ''Ulmus''), and the zelkovas (genus ''Zelkova''). Members of the family are widely distributed throughout the north temperate zone, and have a scattered distribution ...
'' (nettles) and the specific species are - * '' Aphananthe cuspidata'', * '' Asclepias curassavica'', * '' Asclepias guadeloupe'', * ''
Asclepias syriaca ''Asclepias syriaca'', commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is native to southern Canada and much of the United States east of the Rocky Moun ...
'', * ''
Calotropis gigantea ''Calotropis gigantea'', the crown flower, is a species of ''Calotropis'' native to Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, China, Pakistan, and Nepal. It is a large shrub growing to tall. It has clus ...
'', * '' Carissa ovata'', * ''
Cerbera manghas ''Cerbera manghas'', the sea mango, is a small evergreen coastal tree growing up to tall. It is native to coastal areas in Africa, Asia, Australasia, and the Pacific islands. It is classified as one of the three species in the genus Cerbera that ...
'', * '' Cryptolepis pauciflora'' * '' Cryptolepis sinensis'', * ''
Cryptostegia madagascariensis ''Cryptostegia madagascariensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is commonly known as purple rubber vine, is a woody-perennial vine that is native to western and northern Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madaga ...
'', * '' Cynanchum carnosum'', * ''
Ficus benghalensis ''Ficus benghalensis'', commonly known as the banyan, banyan fig and Indian banyan, is a tree native to the Indian Subcontinent. Specimens in India are among the largest trees in the world by canopy coverage. It also known as the " strangler fig ...
'', * ''
Ficus benjamina ''Ficus benjamina'', commonly known as weeping fig, benjamin fig or ficus tree, and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok. The ...
'', * ''
Ficus hederacea ''Ficus hederacea''Roxburgh W (1832) In: ''Fl. Ind. ed. 1832'', 3: 538. is a climbing fig species, in the family Moraceae, which can be found in the Himalayas, southern China and Indo-China. In Vietnam it may be called ''sung leo''. No subsp ...
'', * ''
Ficus microcarpa ''Ficus microcarpa'', also known as Chinese banyan, Malayan banyan, Indian laurel, curtain fig, or , is a tree in the fig family Moraceae. It is native in a range from China through tropical Asia and the Caroline Islands to Australia. It is wide ...
'' * ''
Ficus obliqua ''Ficus obliqua'', commonly known as the small-leaved fig, is a tree in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Australia, New Guinea, eastern Indonesia to Sulawesi and islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Previously known for many years as ...
'', * '' Ficus pandurata'' * '' Ficus platypoda'', * '' Ficus pyriformis'' * ''
Ficus racemosa ''Ficus racemosa'', the cluster fig, red river fig or gular, is a species of plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very rough leaves, usually attaining the size of a lar ...
'', * '' Ficus religiosa'', * ''
Ficus rubiginosa ''Ficus rubiginosa'', the rusty fig or Port Jackson fig (''damun'' in the Dharug language), is a species of flowering plant native to eastern Australia in the genus ''Ficus''. Beginning as a seedling that grows on other plants ( hemiepiphyte) ...
'', * '' Ficus variolosa'', * '' Gomphocarpus fruticosus'', * '' Gymnanthera oblonga'', * '' Hemidesmus indicus'', * '' Holarrhena pubescens'' * '' Hoya australis'' * '' Ichnocarpus frutescens'', * '' Marsdenia australis'', * '' Marsdenia rostrata'', * ''
Marsdenia suaveolens ''Marsdenia suaveolens'', commonly known as the scented milk vine, is a small vine found in New South Wales, Australia. It is found in a variety of habitats in relatively high rainfall areas, from Bega to Port Macquarie. The original specimen ...
'', * '' Nerium indicum'', * ''
Nerium oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...
'', * '' Parsonsia alboflavescens'' * ''
Parsonsia straminea ''Parsonsia straminea'', commonly known as common silkpod or monkey rope, is a woody vine of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It occurs in the states of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. Taxonomy Prolific botanist Robert Brown collec ...
'' * '' Plumeria acuminata'', * ''
Sarcostemma australe ''Sarcostemma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1810. The name is derived from the Greek words σαρκὸς (''sarkos''), meaning "flesh," and στέμμα (''stemma''), meaning ...
'' * '' Secamone elliptica'', * ''
Streblus asper ''Streblus asper'' is a tree known by several common names, including Siamese rough bush, khoi, serut, and toothbrush tree. It is a medium-sized tree native to dry regions in Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Vietnam ...
'', * '' Toxocarpus wightianus'', * '' Trachelospermum bowringii'', * '' Tylophora indica'' . It usually has some preference for certain species in a given area. The more commonly used plants are ''
Ficus racemosa ''Ficus racemosa'', the cluster fig, red river fig or gular, is a species of plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Australia and tropical Asia. It is a fast-growing plant with large, very rough leaves, usually attaining the size of a lar ...
'', ''
Nerium oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...
'', '' Nerium odorum'', and '' Cryptolepis buchananii''. '' Ficus pumila'' a cultivated garden plant which climbs on walls has also been noted.Aravind, N.A. (2005). ''Ficus pumila'' L: A new host plant of common crow (''Euploea core'' Cramer, Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae). ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' 102(1):129


See also

*
Mimic MIMIC, known in capitalized form only, is a former simulation computer language developed 1964 by H. E. Petersen, F. J. Sansom and L. M. Warshawsky of Systems Engineering Group within the Air Force Materiel Command at the Wright-Patterson AFB in ...
*
Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...
*
List of butterflies of India The following is a list of the butterflies of India. India has extremely diverse terrain, climate and vegetation, which comprises extremes of heat cold, desert and jungle, of low-lying plains and the highest mountains, of dryness and dampness, i ...
*
List of butterflies of India (Nymphalidae) This is a list of the butterflies of India belonging to the family Nymphalidae and an index to the species articles. This forms part of the full List of butterflies of India. Danainae (26 spp) See List of butterflies of India (Danainae). Morp ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * Arun, P.R. (2000) Seasonality and abundance of insects with special reference to butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) in a moist deciduous forest of Siruvani, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. South India. PhD thesis, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. 236 p


External links


Sri Lanka Wild Information Database

Hosts database NHM UK

ASEAN biodiversity database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q311337 Euploea Insects of Pakistan Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Indochina Butterflies of Indonesia Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Pieter Cramer