''Euploea sylvester'', the double-branded crow,
[ also known as the two-brand crow][ in Australia, is a 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 ...
,Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
and parts of Australia that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies
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 redu ...
family.
Subspecies
The subspecies of Euploea sylvester are-[
*''E. s. sylvester'' - Cape York - Rockhampton, Torres Strait Is.
*''E. s. coreta'' (Godart, 1819) - Sri Lanka, S.India
*''E. s. hopei'' (Felder & Felder, 1865) - Sikkim - Burma, Assam, Indo-China, Peninsular Malaya
*''E. s. swinhoei'' - Taiwan
*''E. s. pelor'' Doubleday, 1847 - NW.Australia, Northern Territory
]
Description
In shape, colour, and markings, it very closely resembles ''Euploea core
File:Euploea core at thachangad.jpg
''Euploea core'', the common crow, is a common butterfly found in South Asia to Australia. In India it is also sometimes referred to as the common Indian crow, and in Australia as the Australian crow. It belon ...
''. Males, however, can be distinguished at once by the presence of two brands instead of a single one on the forewing. Of the females Lionel de Nicéville
Charles Lionel Augustus de Nicéville (1852 in Bristol – 3 December 1901 in Calcutta from malaria) was a curator at the Indian Museum in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He studied the butterflies of the Indian Subcontinent and wrote a three volume mono ...
says, females of ''E. coreta'' can be separated from the females of ''E. core'' by the following points: "First by the outline of the forewing being more entire; in ''core'' it is slightly but perceptibly scalloped- Second, by the underside of the forewing having a complete series of six spots, one between each pair of nervules outside the cell; in core two of these spots, those above the discoidal nervules (veins 5 and 6), are always wanting. Third, the two brands on the interno-median area (interspace 1) of the forewing in the male are faintly but quite perceptibly to be traced in the female in the same position."
Larval food plants
The double-banded crow feeds on 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 and oleanders) including Parsonsia, Hoya, and Cynanchum
''Cynanchum'' is a genus of about 300 species including some swallowworts, belonging to the family Apocynaceae. The taxon name comes from Greek ''kynos'' (meaning "dog") and ''anchein'' ("to choke"), hence the common name for several species is d ...
, Asclepiadaceae (milkweeds) including Marsdenia and 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) including ''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 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 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 ...
'', ''Gymnema sylvestre
''Gymnema sylvestre'' is a perennial woody vine native to Asia (including the Arabian Peninsula), Africa and Australia. It has been used in Ayurvedic medicine. Common names include gymnema, Australian cowplant, and Periploca of the woods, and the ...
'' and '' Ichnocarpus frutescens'' [HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/hostplants/) accessed on September 12, 2007.]
Gallery
File:Euploea sylvester (ento-csiro-au).jpg, ''Euploea sylvester pelor'' In Australia
File: Open wing position of Euploea sylvester Fabricius, 1793 – Double-branded Crow WLB DSC 0130.jpg, ''Euploea sylvester hopei'' In Buxa Tiger Reserve
, photo = Buxa Tiger Reserve forest 2014.jpg
, iucn_category = II
, map = India West Bengal
, map_width =
, label = Buxa NP
, label_position = right
, location = West Bengal, India
, nearest_city = Alipurduar
, coordinates =
, area_km ...
, West Bengal, India
File:VB 056 Double Branded Crow.jpg, ''Euploea sylvester coreta'' In Bangalore
Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
, Karnataka, India
See also
*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 ...
*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
External links
Sri Lanka Wild Life Information Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q589906
Euploea
Butterflies of Asia
Butterflies of Indochina
Butterflies described in 1793