''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 comprise ...
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
Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...
.
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 or ...
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
Entomophagy (, from Greek ἔντομον ', 'insect', and φαγεῖν ', 'to eat') is the practice of eating insects. An alternative term is insectivory. Terms for organisms that practice entomophagy are ''entomophage'' and ''insectivore' ...
and are predators of scale insects like mealybugs. The species unlike many other lycaenid butterflies is not myrmecophilous
Myrmecophily ( , ) is the term applied to positive interspecies associations between ants and a variety of other organisms, such as plants, other arthropods, and fungi. Myrmecophily refers to mutualistic associations with ants, though in its ...
(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/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)
This is a list of the butterflies of India belonging to the family Lycaenidae and an index to the species articles. This forms part of the full List of butterflies of India.
This list is based on Evans (1932) and includes 318 species bel ...
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