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As usual every
year I leave Singapore where I work, for my hometown, Petaling Jaya, a
few days before Chinese New Year. Last year, I
boarded a night coach on Friday 8th February and arrived
home in the wee hours of Saturday.
The following morning, I woke
up to a hot and sunny day. Almost instantly, I had this urge to check
out the garden just before breakfast. Wandering around in my pajamas
at 8am, I could immediately feel the intense heat on my skin. Already
there were two Plain Tigers feeding on the butterfly bush and a Lime
Butterfly laying eggs on our citrus plant. Spotted at a grassy patch
outside my house was an orange coloured butterfly fluttering very
close to the ground. At first, I dismissed it as a slightly larger
Leopard or a freshly emerged Peacock Pansy. However, on closer
inspection, I discovered it was a totally new species to me. That was
when I ‘consulted’ the
Butterflies Of The Malay Peninsula by Corbet and Pendlebury (4th
edition) to assist in the identification. The closest specimen
in the book was an Acraea issoria but that was definitely not
it.
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Acraea
violae
(Fabricius) |
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The
sighting of Acraea violae in Malaysia was first reported
in Vol 49 No 3 1996 edition of the Malayan Naturalist :
"This species, which is common on cleared land in Sri Lanka and
southern India, appeared in Thailand about ten years ago. It has
now spread southward, and was taken by Arshad on the edge of the
Batu Pahat forest reserve in Perlis in Dec 1992. It was seen on
a beach in Langkawi shortly afterwards by Mr. Wong Tet Seng, and
on open land near Bukit Mertajam in April 1993 by Mr. K. W.
Cheng. Perhaps by now somebody has met with it further to the
south?" |
In the early afternoon of the
first day of Chinese New Year, ie. the 12th , I chanced upon
a female laying eggs on a common-looking creeper from the passionfruit
family on the same patch of grass. During the process of oviposition,
the female was oblivious to everything around her, even to my close
presence. She settled on a leaf for a few seconds before reversing and
placing her abdomen underneath the leaf. After half a minute, she flew
off to the nearest flower and started feeding. Flipping over the leaf,
I found seven yellowish eggs placed in a circle. Unfortunately, I
managed to breed just one to adulthood.
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A. violae migration
route |
It was only later while
surfing the internet that I found out the identity and origin of this new species. Going by
the common name of Tawny Coster or
Acraea violae as it is
scientifically known, this species has its origins in Thailand. The
hostplant was also later identified as Passiflora tuberosa. While on holiday in Langkawi
with my wife last November 27th to 30th, a
freshly emerged specimen was
spotted on our very first day there, clinging to the wall of the
seaside resort where we stayed. Thereafter, we were back home for
another short visit. We were pleasantly surprised by the more than
eight Tawny Costers flying about in the garden. The species seemed to
be thriving and judging from the sightings of a butterfly enthusiast
in Negri Sembilan, Mr. Ng Tham Fatt, some months back, it seems to
be migrating down south as well. From the looks of it, this pretty
visitor from Thailand is going to make Malaysia her home.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if this pretty insect makes it to Singapore? |
