Mimic

Hypolimnas misippus

first update d. 16 february 2022

  last update d. 31 october 2023

Mimik, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) female. Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania medio february, 2022. Photographer: Regitze EnoksenMimik, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) male. Masai Mara Wildlife Reserves, SW Kenya medio february, 2022. Photographer: Regitze Enoksen

Mimic, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) female.
Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania
medio february, 2022.
Photographer:
Regitze Enoksen
Mimic, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) male.
Masai Mara Wildlife Reserves, SW Kenya
medio february, 2022.
Photographer:
Regitze Enoksen

Mimik, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) female. Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania medio february, 2022. Photographer: Regitze EnoksenMimik, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) male. Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania medio february, 2022. Photographer: Regitze Enoksen

Mimic, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) female.
Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania
medio february, 2022.
Photographer:
Regitze Enoksen
Mimic, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) male.
Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania
medio february, 2022.
Photographer:
Regitze Enoksen

Dhofarbjergene, Oman  november 2018. Fotograf: Bo KayserDanaid Eggfly, Hypolimnas misippus. Hainan, China. d. 16 October 2007. Photographer: Henrik Stig Larsen Danaid Eggfly, Hypolimnas misippus male. Chitwan Nat. park, Nepal november 1995. Photographer: Lars Andersen

Mimik, Hypolimnas misippus  han.
Dhofarbjergene, Oman november 2018.
Fotograf: Bo Kayser
Danaid Eggfly, Hypolimnas misippus male.
Hainan, China d. 16 October 2007.
Photographer: Henrik Stig Larsen
Mimic , Hypolimnas misippus male.
Chitwan Nat. park, Nepal november 1995.
Photographer: Lars Andersen
     
Danaid eggfly, mimic or diadem, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764).

Description: Males are blackish with distinctive white spots that are fringed in blue. Females are in multiple forms that include male-like forms while others closely resemble the toxic butterflies
plain tiger, Danaus chrysippus and monach, Danaus plexippus.

Foodplant:
Common purslane, Portulaca oleracea. Asystasia Blume, Asystasia lawiana.

Distribution: They are found across Africa, Libya, Turkey, Madagascar, Mauritius, Arabia, India, Indochina, Hainan, Taiwan, Okinawa, Orienten, Australia, New Guinea, Salomon Isl, New Caledonia. In the Americas, they are found in the West Indies, with migration to Central and North America.

In Madeira, the last migration of this art was recorded by Wind Birds on 13 November 2012 with at least 3 males and they were in a very dry coastal area. They were put for a few weeks in the same area.

Migrations have been seen on Madeira, Ilhéu Chão, the Azores, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.

Hypolimnas misippus had temporarily established populations in the Canary Islands in the 1980s, see (Wiemers, M. 1995), but there are currently no populations. Therefore it was excluded from the European Red List 2009."

Danish name: Mimik.

Danaid Eggfly, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764). Tansa Forest north of Mumbai, India January 2016. Photographer; Erling KrabbeDanaid Eggfly, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764). Tansa Forest north of Mumbai, India January 2016. Photographer; Erling KrabbeDanaid Eggfly, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764). Tansa Forest north of Mumbai, India January 2016. Photographer; Erling Krabbe

Danaid EggflyHypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764).
Tansa Forest north of Mumbai, India January 2016. Photographer; Erling Krabbe

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Mimik, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) male. Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania medio february, 2022. Photographer: Regitze EnoksenMimik, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) female. Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania medio february, 2022. Photographer: Regitze EnoksenMimik, Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) female. Paje, Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania medio february, 2022. Photographer: Regitze EnoksenPlain Tiger, Danaus chrysippus ( Cramer, 1777). Penang, Malaysia february 1994. Photographer; Tom Nygaard KristensenPlain Tiger, Danaus chrysippus ( Cramer, 1777). Andalusien, Spain d. 21 maj  2001. Photographer; Tom Nygaard Kristensen

Mimic, 
Hypolimnas misippus  male. Zanzibar
Mimic,  
Hypolimnas misippus  female. Zanzibar
Mimic,  
Hypolimnas misippus  female. Zanzibar
Plain Tiger,  
Danaus chrysippus female. Malaysia
Plain Tiger,  
Danaus chrysippus male. Spain

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Blue Diadem

Hypolimnas salmacis

first update d. 16 february 2022

  last update d. 19 february 2022

Blue Diadem, Hypolimnas salmacis ssp. thomensis (Aurivillius, 1910) male. Monte Carme, São Tomé january 30, 2018. Photographer; Erling Krabbe

Blue DiademHypolimnas salmacis ssp. thomensis (Aurivillius, 1910) male.
Monte Carme,
São Tomé january 30, 2018. Photographer; Erling Krabbe

Blue Diadem, Hypolimnas salmacis (Drury, 1773).

Description: Males are blackish with distinctive white spots that are fringed in blueDescription: There are two female forms, one with blue and the other with an ochreous ground-colour.

Habitats: consists of secondary forests and disturbed environments.

Behavior: Adult males mud-puddle. Both sexes feed from teak flowers.

Foodplant: The larvae feed on Urera hypselodendron, U. trinervis and Fleurya species.

Distribution: is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, the DRC, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

Danish name: Blå Diadem.

Blue Diadem, Hypolimnas salmacis ssp. thomensis (Aurivillius, 1910) female. Lagoa Amelia, São Tomé february 2, 2018. Photographer; Erling KrabbeBlue Diadem, Hypolimnas salmacis ssp. thomensis (Aurivillius, 1910) female. Lagoa Amelia, São Tomé february 2, 2018. Photographer; Erling Krabbe

Blue DiademHypolimnas salmacis ssp. thomensis (Aurivillius, 1910) female.
Lagoa Amelia,
São Tomé february 2, 2018. Photographer; Erling Krabbe

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Malayan Eggfly

Hypolimnas anomala

first update d. 16 february 2022

  last update d. 16 february 2022

Malayan Anomalous Eggfly, Hypolimnas anomala (Wallace, 1869) male. Poring Hotsprings, Sabah, Borneo october 9, 2016. Photographer; Hanne Christensen

Malayan Eggfly, Hypolimnas anomala (Wallace, 1869) male.
Poring Hotsprings, Sabah,
Borneo october 9, 2016. Photographer; Hanne Christensen

Malayan Eggfly or Crow Eggfly, Hypolimnas anomala (Wallace, 1869).

Description: can reach a wingspan of 65–75 mm. These butterflies have brown forewings with a purple sheen. They show variable white markings. Usually there are a double row of white marginal spots and three pale streaks on each forewings. The hindwings are rather paler, with dark brown veins. The undersides of both wings are similar to the uppersides. In the adult butterflies only four legs are present. These butterflies mimic
Euploea species.

Habitats: It especially occurs in lowlands and tropical rainforests, wastelands, hill parks and natural reserves.

Egg, Caterpilar and puppae: Females lay golden in colour globular eggs in a large cluster on the underside of the leaves. They hatch after about 3–4 days. The 6th (and final) instarcaterpillars are black with yellow spots and spines. Also the head is yellow. with long black cephalic horns. They are gregarious and usually occur in large numbers.

Foodplants: They feed on leaves of
Urticaceae (Pipturus argenteus, Pipturus arboresceus, Pouzolzia, Villebrunea species and Euphorbiaceae (Claoxylon).

Distribution: This species is present as various subspecies in South East Asia, Moluccas, New Guinea, Australia.

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Great Eggfly

Hypolimnas bolina

first update d. 16 february 2022

  last update d. 19 february 2022

Great Eggfly, Hypolimmas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) female. Sepilok Raainforest, Sabah, Borneo september, 2017. Photographer; Hanne Christensen

Great EggflyHypolimmas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) male.
Sepilok Raainforest, Sabah, Borneo september, 2017Photographer; Hanne Christensen

Great Eggfly,  Hypolimnas bolina (Drury, 1773 ).  Thailand February 2016. Photographer;  Henrik S LarsenGreat Eggfly, Hypolimmas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758).  Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo d. 20 marts 2017. Fotograf; John S. Petersen

Great EggflyHypolimmas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) female.
Ao Nang, Thailand February 11, 2016. Photographer; Henrik S. Larsen
Great EggflyHypolimmas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) female.
Mont Kinabalu, Borneo d. 20 marts 2017. Fotograf; John S. Petersen
   
Great Eggfly, Hypolimnas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758).

Description: is a black-bodied butterfly with a wingspan of about 70–85 mm. The species has a high degree of sexual dimorphism. The female is mimetic with multiple morphs.
Males are monomorphic. The dorsal wing surface is jet black but features three prominent spots, two on the forewing and one on the hindwing. To a human observer these appear as white spots fringed with blue-violet.
Females are owing to the presence of both genetic polymorphism and phenotypic plasticity. Polymorphism is expressed primarily on the dorsal surface, with morphs varying in the presence of white, orange and blue markings.
One genetic morph, named
euploeoides by Clarke & Sheppard (1975),
is thought to present a mimic of one or several members of the genus
Euploea.

Mimicry; To the west the female is monomorphic, mimicking species of the oriental and Australasian danaid genus Euploea.
Eastwards
H. bolina is frequently polymorphic and most forms are then non-mimetic.
In areas where it resembles Euploea the butterfly has usually been designated a Batesian mimic.

Habitats: is a generally common butterfly across most tropical and sub-tropical habitat types, including wet/dry woodland (such as tropical savanna), rainforest and shrubland. It is a common visitor to suburban back yards and other areas of human disturbance. In the Australian tropics, H. bolina is particularly common along tracks, streambeds, and the corridors formed between remnant gallery forest and cultivated sugar cane fields.

Behavior: Males are notably territorial. Individuals are known to return to defend the same location for up to 54 days, with site fidelity increasing with age. Territories that enhance the visual detection of adult females are preferred.
Unlike congenerics such as
Hypolimnas anomala, female H. bolina most often lay one or two eggs at a time. These are typically laid on the leaf underside. Early season (post-diapause) females in the Australian wet-dry tropics target freshly-germinated seedlings of their favoured host in this region, Synedrella nodiflora.

Foodplant: Race bolina breeds on Sida rhombifolia, Elatostemma cuneatum, Portulaca oleracea, Laportea interrupta, Triumfetta pentandra and Asystasia species.

Distribution: is found in Madagascar in the west, through to South and Southeast Asia, Cambodia, the South Pacific islands (French Polynesia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa and Vanuatu), and occurs in parts of Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. Appearances in New Zealand appear to be linked with favourable winds during April–June migratory periods in Australia, with the butterfly being recorded in
1956, 1971 and 1995. No populations have established locally in New Zealand.

Danish name:
Stor Diadem.

Hypolimnas bolina. Koh Samui, Thailand d. 20 january 2011. Photographer: Erni BoesenGreat Eggfly, Hypolimnas bolina (Drury, 1773 ). Chiang mai, Thailand February 9 , 2016. Photographer;  Henrik S Larsen

Great EggflyHypolimmas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) female.
Koh Samui,
Thailand d. 20 january 2011. Photographer: Erni Boesen
Great EggflyHypolimmas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) female.
Chiang Mai,
 Thailand February 9, 2016. Photographer; Henrik S. Larsen

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Deceptive Diadem, Hypolimnas deceptor (Doubleday, 1845). Accueil du parc Zombitse-Vohibasia, Madagascar 19 oct. 2023. Photographer; Knud EllegaardMadagascar Diadem, Hypolimnas dexithea (Hewitson, 1863). Ranomafana National Park, Madagaskar d. 8 November 2018. Fotograf: Hanne Christensen

Deceptive Diadem, Hypolimnas deceptor (Doubleday, 1845).
Accueil du parc Zombitse-Vohibasia, Madagascar
19 october. 2023.
Fotograf;
Knud Ellegaard
Madagascar Diadem, Hypolimnas dexithea (Hewitson, 1863).
Ranomafana National Park, Madagaskar d. 8 November 2018.
Fotograf; Hanne Christensen

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