Plum Judy

Abisara echerius

The Plum Judy is a small but striking butterfly found in Asia belonging to the Punches and Judies family. This active butterfly is usually seen at the tops of trees and amidst foliage.

It has a habit of landing and turning around almost immediately after alighting. It repeats this turning movements as it moves along branches. This is believed to help in evading predators by causing confusion about head orientation.

This distinctive mode of movement gives the impression of 'dancing' and is an important field characteristic that helps in identifying the species from even a distance.
Plum Judy, Sinharaja (Kudawa), Sri Lanka Abisara echerius,Plum Judy,Sri Lanka,animal,animals,butterflies,butterfly,insect,insects

Appearance

Charles Thomas Bingham in his ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma'' volume on butterflies describes the species as follows:

A very variable form. Termen of hind wing more or less broadly angulate or produced at apex of interspace 3, but not narrow or tailed as in ''Abisara neophron''.
The dancing judy Abisara echerius,Geotagged,Plum Judy,Summer

Distribution

The Himalayas, Chumba to Kumaon, Nepal and Bhutan ; Ambala; Fyzabad; Malda; Calcutta; Gunjam; Southern India from below Pune and Mumbai; Ceylon; Burma ; China.
The colours :) Abisara echerius,Geotagged,India,Plum Judy,Summer

Reproduction

Flat, very broad in the middle, tapering to both ends, clothed sparsely with short hairs ; head small, not enclosed in the 2nd segment; colour light green.

Evolution

The eggs of the butterfly are laid on host plants belonging to the family Myrsinaceae, including ''Ardisia'' spp., ''Maesa indica'' and ''Embelia laeta''.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyRiodinidae
GenusAbisara
SpeciesA. echerius
Photographed in
India
Sri Lanka