
Jamides celeno ruvana - Common Caerulean
This hairstreak is a good example of the defence mechanism; the false antennae that can actually move, combined with the false eye. These features cause the prey to attack the wrong end of the butterfly, leaving it somewhat disfigured, but still able to fully function.
Identification is a problem, my initial assessment of alecto, on closer examination was incorrect. There are several species of Jamides, and as you examine the pattern of stripes from one to the other, you can almost see how the stripes have shifted during the evolutionary process as the populations became separated.
However, none of the species match the above specimen, but malaccanus was the closest. This is reasonable, as during recent ice ages, the sea level would have dropped and land bridges formed between Malaysia through Borneo and down to Java, this possibly occurred as recently as 25,000 - 15,000 years ago, time enough for minor modifications.
The celeno photographed in Taman Negara, Malaysia is a close match for the rear wing, but the front wing has differences. Malaccanus is so close to the celeno, almost an exact match for the front wing, but notable differences on the rear wing. It beggars belief that malaccus should be assigned a different genus.
There are several celeno photographed in India that are extremely close to my specimen, all with very slight variations;
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/15608255
There is a sub species; Jamides celeno sundara, which from the name would indicate a Javanese species, but unfortunately, there are no images published.
For all the above evidence, I am submitting as a sub species of celeno.
Location is Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Alongside a stream and paddy fields.
Edit - Massive thanks to WildFlower for going the extra mile, and finding the EXACT ID for this elusive butterfly. This sub-species is native to Indonesia; Jamides celeno ruvana - Common Caerulean.
"Jamides celeno", the common cerulean, is a small butterfly found in Indomalayan realm belonging to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1775.
comments (7)
http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/India%20-%20Jamides%20alecto.htm
Dave Posted 9 years ago
http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/lycaenidae/polyommatinae/jamides/index.html Posted 9 years ago
Thanks.
Dave Posted 9 years ago
Dave Posted 9 years ago