The rich and rare biodiversity in Cyprus. The Cyprus biodiversity includes 1908 plants, 780 seashells, 250 fishes, more than 7.000 insects, 410 birds including migratory, 31 mammals, 9 snakes, 11 lizards,three amphibians, 120 land snails, fungi estimated 5-8 thousandand and three turtles.These numbers continually increase as a result of researc. Also see All about Cyprus.
From George Konstantinou. Email -
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Το υλικό της ιστοσελίδας αποτελεί πνευματική ιδιοκτησία.
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Showing posts with label Butterfly of cyprus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Butterfly of cyprus. Show all posts
Libythea celtis, the European beak or nettle-tree butterfly, is a butterfly of the Libytheinae group of the brush-footed butterflies family.
Family:Nymphalidae
Description
The upperside ground colour is rich silky brown. The forewing has the cell filled with a broad orange-yellow streak which is subapically deeply indented above; a small discal orange-yellow spot present in interspace 1; a much larger, similarly coloured discal spot between veins 2 and 4, on the inner side touching the cell between veins 3 and 4; a subcostal white preapical spot and a quadrate double spot in interspaces 4 and 5, placed obliquely forward to the subcostal spot; this spot whitish above, orange below. Hindwing uniform, with an irregular curved, transverse, upper postdiscal orange patch extending from just below vein 3 to interspace 6, the portion in interspace 6 often detached. Underside ground colour: forewing brown, apex pale purplish irrorated (sprinkled) with minute dark transverse striae and dots, orange markings as on the upperside but paler; hindwing uniform pale purplish irrorated with minute dark dots and transverse striae. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen dark brown; beneath, palpi, thorax and abdomen concolorous with the tint of the underside of the hindwing
Its range is southern Europe, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Central Asia and the Chitral ranges of Pakistan.
The larva feeds on Celtis australis.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libythea_celtis
Limenitis reducta, the southern white admiral, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Distribution and habitat
This species can be found in central and southern Europe (northern Iberia, southern and eastern France, Italy, the Balkans, and the Alps), in Western Asia, in Syria, the Caucasus and Iran. These butterflies live in light woodland, in woodland glades and in forest edge, at an elevation of 0–1,650 metres (0–5,413 ft) above sea level.
Description
Limenitis reducta has a wingspan of 46–54 mm. The upperside of the wings is brown black with metallic blue shine, large transversal band of white markings and a submarginal line of small blue dots. The blue sheen varies with the angle of light. The ground colour of underside of the hindwings is red, with a silvery basal area, a row of white markings and a row of black spots. A few white cell spots are also present on the underside of the forewings.The caterpillars can reach a length of 27 millimetres (1.1 in). They are light green to dull green on the back, red brown on the underside. On the back there are numerous brown thorns.
This species is rather similar to Limenitis camilla, Neptis rivularis and Araschnia levana f. prorsa.
Biology
This species may have one or more generations, depending on the location. The butterfly flies from May to August depending on the location. Larvae feed on honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum, Lonicera etrusca, Lonicera implexa, Lonicera xylosteum, Lonicera alpigena, Lonicera nummulariifolia and Lonicera caprifolium). Adults usually feed on nectar of a wide range of herbaceous and arboreal flowers, but also visit fallen fruits, dung, aphid secretions and mineralised moisture from damp ground. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hyponephele lupina, the Oriental meadow brown or branded meadowbrown, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in North Africa, Cyprus, south western Europe, southern Russia, Asia Minor, southern Siberia, Middle Asia, Iran and from Baluchistan to Nepal.Seitz describes it thus- lupinus Costa (47 e) is rather considerably larger than the forms [of Epinepele] so far named; the rusty yellow on the underside of the forewing is brighter, the underside of the hindwing strongly speckled. Southern Italy, Greece
Kirinia roxelana, the lattice brown, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southeastern Europe and the Near East. The butterfly is on wing between May and July. The larvae feed on various grasses.
Description
The length of the forewings is 29 to 31 mm (1.1 to 1.2 in). Seitz describes it thus- P. roxelana Cr. (45 c). The largest Pararge, with the margin of the hindwing strongly dentate, especially in the female. Male black-brown. Female grey-brown, with the disc of the forewing reddish yellow. Underside of forewing fiery yellowish red with the margins grey-brown; hindwing beneath with dark dentate lines and a curved row of unequal ocelli beyond the centre. From South-East Hungary to the Black Sea, on the Balcan Peninsula, Cyprus, in Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, in the plains as well as the mountains, in June and July, not rare. It can be confused with the lesser lattice brown (Kirinia climene) with which it shares part of its range.
Distribution and habitat
The lattice brown is found in southeastern Europe and the Near East. Its range extends from Bulgaria and southern Croatia through the Balkans to northern Iran, Turkey and Israel, including many of the islands in the Aegean Sea. It is found in a variety of habitats such as warm, dry grassland and scrubland with rocks near woodland, forest verges, vineyards and olive groves with stone walls.
Ecology
There is one generation of this butterfly which is on the wing between April and September, and is most commonly seen from May to July. The eggs are laid on broad-leaved grasses, often at the foot of walls or rocks. The caterpillars are fusiform, green with longitudinal yellowish and pale green stripes. Having overwintered as caterpillars, they pupate in the spring among the vegetation before emerging as adults..From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Papilio demoleus is a common and widespread swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly is also known as the lime butterfly, lemon butterfly, lime swallowtail, and chequered swallowtail. These common names refer to their host plants, which are usually citrus species such as the cultivated lime. Unlike most swallowtail butterflies, it does not have a prominent tail. When the adult stage is taken into consideration, the lime swallowtail is the shortest-lived butterfly, with male adults dying after four days and females after a week. The butterfly is native to Asia and Australia, and can be considered an invasive pest in other parts of the world. The butterfly has spread to Hispaniola island (Dominican Republic) in the Western Hemisphere, and to Mahé, Seychelles.
Photos Geri 2021, 2022 by George Konstantinou
P. demoleus is perhaps the most widely distributed swallowtail in the world. The butterfly can be found in:
Cyprus, Syria, Iraq, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, western and possibly eastern Afghanistan, the South Asian Subcontinent (India including the Andamans, Bangladesh, western Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal), Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, southern China (including Hainan, Guangdong province), Taiwan, Japan (rare strays), Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sula, Talaud, Flores, Alor and Sumba), Papua New Guinea, Australia (including Lord Howe Island), Solomon Islands, and possibly other Pacific Ocean islands.
he Southeast Asian subspecies Papilio demoleus malayanus recently established an abundant non-native population on Mahé in Seychelles This species was probably accidentally introduced to Mahé a few years ago (first records in November 2016). Further dispersal events of Papilio demoleus within Seychelles to other granitic islands of the archipelago, e.g. Praslin and La Digue, are expected.
Formerly absent from Borneo, it is now one of the commonest papilionids in Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), and Brunei.
In recent years, the butterfly has spread to Hispaniola island (Dominican Republic) in the Western Hemisphere, and subsequently to Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. The Dominican population originated from Southeast Asia but how the butterfly reached there is not known.
The widespread range of P. demoleus indicates the butterfly's tolerance and adaptation to diverse habitats. It is found in savannahs, fallow lands, gardens, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, and shows a preference for streams and riverbeds. In India, it is mostly found in the plains, but can be found on the hills of peninsular India and up to 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in the Himalayas. It is common in urban gardens and may also be encountered in wooded country. The butterfly is also a very successful invader, its spread appearing to be due to its strong flight, increase in urbanisation and agricultural land use that opens up new areas for dispersal, and greater availability of food plants.
This butterfly is an avid mud-puddler and visitor of flowers. It basks with its wings held wide open on tufts of grass and herbs, and generally keeps within a metre of the ground, even on cloudy days. It relies on its quick flight for escape.[15] It has a number of modes of flight. In the cool of the morning, the flight is slow considering that it is an edible and unprotected swallowtail. As the day progresses, it flies fast, straight, and low. In the hotter part of the day, it may be found settling on damp patches, where it will remain motionless, except for an occasional flutter of wings, if not disturbed.[15] It is also a frequent visitor of flowers in gardens, where it shows a preference for flowers of smaller herbs rather than larger plants such as the ubiquitous Lantana with its plentiful blooms. It can be found swarming in the groves of its food plants.
Research on freshly emerged imagines of P. demoleus showed that they have an inborn or spontaneous preference while feeding for blue and purple colours, while the yellow, yellowish-green, green, and blue-green colours are completely neglected.
The number of generations of P. demoleus is dependent upon temperature – near the equator, nine generations have been recorded, while in warm temperate China, five generations have been recorded. In the ideal conditions of a laboratory, a generation has been recorded to take place in just over 30 days. The typical time for one generation of P. demoleus to mature in the field ranges from 26 to 59 days. In cold climates, the lime butterfly is known to pass the winter as pupae. Typically, the butterfly undergoes five instars as a caterpillar.
The female butterfly goes from plant to plant, laying a single egg at a time on top of a leaf, which it holds onto with its legs, and flies off as soon as the egg is laid. The egg is round, light yellowish in colour, flattened at the base, smooth-surfaced, and about 1.5 mm in height. Fertile eggs develop a small red mark at the apex.
The newly hatched caterpillar stays in the middle of the upperside of the leaf. The first instar of the caterpillar is black, with a black head and two rows of subdorsal fleshy spines. The second, third, and fourth instars are dark, with a glossy, dark-brown head, and white markings on the eighth and ninth segments of the caterpillar, which resemble a white patch of uric acid deposited in a bird's droppings, helping them escape predation while remaining in moderately open places.
As the instars progress, this resemblance is lost. From the fifth instar onwards, the caterpillars now turn cylindrical in shape, tapered towards the rear, and uniformly pale green in colour with a white subspiracular band. An additional black band is developed on the fourth and fifth segments with two black and two bluish spots on them. The eighth and ninth segments, which earlier provided the camouflage markings now develop a brown and white band. At this stage, the caterpillars are forced to inhabit secluded places.
The pupa, which is rugose (wrinkled), stout, and 30 mm in length, has two projections to the front on its head and also one on its thorax, and resembles that of the common Mormon (Papilio polytes), the difference being that the common Mormon pupa has a deeper cut between the projections and its abdomen is more protruded on the sides, having a small point.
The pupa is dimorphic with regards to colour, with the colour developing according to the prevalent colour and texture in the background. The green morph, which is found amongst green vegetation and smoother textures, is light green and unmarked or with yellow dorsal markings. When situated among brown or dry objects, the pupa tend to turn light grey brown to pink brown and develop cryptic dark brown and black striation.
The adults fly in every month, but are particularly abundant during and after the monsoons.
Captive breeding of P. demoleus in Riyadh has revealed these data about the lifespan of various stages at that locality:
Number of generations per year: 8
Duration of egg stage: 3.1 to 6.1 days
Duration of larva stage: 12.9 and 22.7 days
Duration of pupa stage: 8.0 to 22.4 days
Duration of adult stage: 4 to 6 days with average of 5.1 days
The larval food plants of P. demoleus in Asia are from the family Rutaceae, while in Australia and Papua New Guinea, the butterfly also feeds on host plants of family Fabaceae
The lime butterfly is an economic pest on many cultivated citrus species in India, Pakistan, Iraq, and the Middle East. Due to its history of successful dispersal and range extension, the lime butterfly is likely to spread from its original point of introduction in Hispaniola in the Caribbean to neighbouring Florida, Central America, and South America. Due to its capability for rapid population growth under favourable circumstances and its having been recorded to have five generations in a year in temperate regions of China, it is considered a serious potential threat.[13] The caterpillars can completely defoliate young citrus trees (below 2 feet) and devastate citrus nurseries. In mature trees, caterpillars may prefer young leaves and leaf flush.
Hand-picking of caterpillars and spraying with endosulfan 35 EC (2 ml/10 litres of water) were the recommended means of pest control by Indian government agencies and agricultural colleges, however, endosulfan has since been banned by the Supreme Court of India.
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