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Expert Insight
Issue 5, May 2002 by Simon Chan Kee Mun
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Common Name
Scientific Name
Family
Subfamily
Discovered by
Polymorphism |
: Common Palmfly
: Elymnias hypermnestra agina
: Nymphalidae
: Satyrinae
: Fruhstorfer in 1902 (the species); in 1902 and 1907
(synonyms beatrice and ornamenta respectively)
: No |
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Common Palmfly -
Elymnias hypermnestra agina |
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ll species from the genus Elymnias are medium or large-sized and
are very delicate and fragile. This is especially true of their
wings, which can be easily broken at the slightest touch. Also, they
have a rather somber coloration and many are extremely rare.
One of only three species from this genus to be found
in Singapore, the Common Palmfly is a common insect in the forest as
well as urban areas. It is particularly abundant where plants of the
species Palmae thrive; at MRT stations and even inside offices where a few could be seen flapping
against the glass panes trying desperately to escape. This
unfortunate predicament is the direct result of people wanting a
part of nature in their workplace or home. When a nursery brings in
a palm tree from the outside, there might be some eggs or
caterpillars already present on its leaves.
Its flight can be best described as a slow
flapping and gliding motion. It has a propensity to rest on leaves very
often after each short flight. Due to its fondness for shade, it is usually
found flying under the cover of trees amongst the undergrowth. The remaining two, the Tawny Palmfly (Elymnias panthera panthera) and
Elymnias penanga penanga are strictly forest denizens. While the former is
usually found as individuals on the main island and more recently on
Pulau Tekong, the latter has so far been spotted only a few times in
Pulau Ubin with its fate hanging in the balance.
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Yellow Cane
Palm |
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Above, the Common Palmfly is bluish black
with a series of blue to purple submarginal spots on the forewing turning to
purplish brown on the hindwing. Its underside is a rich brown filled with
minute fasciae, with a ‘thumb-print’ of a lighter shade at the apex of the
forewing. Usually, there is a white spot in the centre of the costa on the
hindwing. The slightly larger female resembles the male but is somewhat
lighter in colour and has a few whitish submarginal spots on the upperside
of its hindwings.
Although it utilizes many varieties of
palms as hostplants, including the Coconut (Cocos nucifera) and Oilpalm (Elaeis
guineensis), this species prefers the Yellow or Golden Cane Palm (Dypsis
lutescens).
Its larva is one of the most colourful caterpillars I have ever seen, being
green with yellow longitudinal stripes with a pink head and anal processes
and is found underneath the leaf of its hostplant. Its pupa is green with
yellow longitudinal stripes outline in red.
The range of this insect is from Sri Lanka and India to
Formosa and Indo-China through Malaysia to the Lesser Sunda Islands and
Philippines.
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Egg (inset) , early and late instar larvae |
Pupa |
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Freshly emerged adult |
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