Junonia rhadama - female in dry season, Antananarivo, Madagascar

This day was a hotel in the capital, still managed to shoot a few insects outside the hotel. It's dull grey/brown with a strange orange diagonal line.

comments (6)

Christine Young

Lion

Maybe something in the Melanitis or Junonia genera. Although,I'm not finding a match... Posted 6 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  You are absolutely right in it being Junonia sp. And it all makes sense now. As I was going through this small set, I was pretty sure that this photo and that bright blue one were the same individual, because they are in sequence and I was chasing it for quite some time.
  
  So I thought it was Junonia rhadama, but I dismissed it because I could not match it. I figured it was just my memory failing on me. Until on FB somebody told me that this is specifically the female dry season form of the species, that's why it looks so different:
  https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/253949309779_/Unmounted-Butterfly-Nymphalidae-Junonia-rhadama-FEMALE-dry-season.jpg
  
  So it WAS the same butterfly anyway. Ugh, pretty obscure.
  
  Thanks for helping out! Posted 6 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Awesome that you got an ID! It's funny because I was going to ask if it could be an individual that you already spotted, but hadn't seen from this angle. I can't believe it's Junonia rhadama though! What a huge difference compared to the upper surface! Amazing! Posted 6 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      I was aware that the lower surface of this species is dull brown:
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junonia_rhadama
      
      Yet as you can see from the photo on that page, the dull side looks a lot different to my photo. That is how I disconnected them as being 2 species. Posted 6 years ago, modified 6 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Wow, totally different! Posted 6 years ago
      2. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Dry season females, they're....different. Posted 6 years ago

The Brilliant blue

"Junonia rhadama", the brilliant blue, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found on Madagascar, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Réunion, the Comoros, and the Seychelles. The habitat consists of transformed grasslands and Anthropogenic biomeanthropogenic environments.

Info 4 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by Ferdy Christant