Meadow Argus (Junonia villida)

I have a deep appreciation for observing butterflies belonging to the Buckeyes and Pansies group, within the Genus Junonia. There are six species of this genus in India which are fairly commonly encountered.

I have so far met 13 species of Junonia across four continents and six countries.

During my time in Australia, I had the pleasure of encountering the exquisite Meadow Argus (Junonia villida), a species I had the opportunity to see in Hobart, Tasmania on multiple occasions.

These charming butterflies have a distinctive behavior of frequently resting on mud roads or roadside herbs and then taking flight only to settle nearby when disturbed. Although the Meadow Argus is known to inhabit various locations throughout Australia, I regret that the weather conditions in other places did not permit me to spot them during my travels.

Other posts about 

• Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) in late fall

African Joker (Byblia anvatara)

African Joker (Byblia anvatara) Distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa, similar to the Indian Joker species which also extends to Africa and co-occurs in some parts. Although, I am yet to meet the Indian species, I got to meet this in Foret de Ko, Benin in November 2019.

References:

• Wikipedia
• IUCN

Falls Acraea (Acraea acerata)

Falls Acraea (Acraea acerata) Also called as small yellow-banded acraea or sweet potato butterfly This brightly colored Nymphalidae is distributed across Sub-Saharan Africa and seen in disturbed forest near water. Does not seem to be very common and I got to meet only this one in Foret de Ko, Benin November 2019. 

References:

• Wikipedia
• CABI profile
  
• GBIF profile
• My iNaturalist record

Fashion Commodore (Precis pelarga)

The Fashion Commodore (Precis pelarga) belongs to the Nymphalidae family and is commonly found in the Afrotropical region. I've had the privilege of encountering this butterfly in Benin on multiple occasions. The genus Precis is native to Africa and comprises approximately 17 distinct species.

Initially, I mistook this butterfly for a Pansy (Junonia) species due to its striking resemblance. It's fascinating to note that both of my observations of the Fashion Commodore were in well-wooded areas, where these butterflies seem to thrive and find their natural habitat.

 

References:

• Wikipedia
• iNaturalist records: 18403152, 18403153, 36366549

Mimicry in butterflies

Some of the Butterflies have chemical defense against certain predators. In the caterpillar stage, they consume certain plants and store the chemicals which prevent some predators to eat them. These predators, specially birds are known to remember the distaste and associated wing patterns. To take advantage of this, certain species copy the pattern to avoid the predators. This is called as Batesian Mimicry. Another group, which is also distasteful copies the pattern to make sure the predators remember the pattern, these are called Mullerian mimics.

Plain Tiger or African Monarch (Danaus chrysippus) feeds on Milkweed plants in caterpillar stage so has the required chemical defense making it a model in this mimicry.

One of the very common mimic of this model is Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus) in which only the female mimics the Plain Tiger butterfly and male is completely different, so much so that one might think it is a different species.

References:

• Wikipedia : Mimicry
• Butterfly mimicry through the eyes of bird predators
• Mimicry in Butterflie : Book by R C Punnett

Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon)

Phaon crescent (Phyciodes phaon)  or mat plant crescent, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Florida, neighboring states, west to New Mexico and south to Cuba and the Cayman Islands where is it known as the crescent spot. Typically encountered in early spring to late fall in most of the range, and all round the year in peninsular Florida.

Genus Phyciodes commonly called as Crescents or Crescent spots, has more than 10 species mainly in North Americas.




























References:

• Phyciodes (Wikipedia)
• Phyciodes phaon (Wikipedia)
• Record on iNaturalist

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) in late fall

Common buckeye or Buckeye (Junonia coenia), is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family, seen in North America. It is named for its conspicuous target-shaped eyespots.

Junonia is a genus know as Buckeyes and Pansies, which has origin in Africa, which then dispersed in Asia and then elsewhere. Has about 30-35 species world over.

• Junonia coenia (Wikipedia)
• Junonia (Wikipedia)
• http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01425.x/abstract
• https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Junonia-coenia

Grey Count (Tanaecia lepidea)

The grey count (Tanaecia lepidea), is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia.

Three subspecies recorded from India, T. l. miyana in peninsular India and T. l. lepidea and T. l. sthavara in the North Eastern India.

The males of this species are observed to be territorial like few Nymphalidae members. Typically they perch on a branch of trees and chase flying insects flying bye.  

I met this one at Suntaleykhola in Samsing, in Paschimbanga.









References:

• Tanaecia lepidea (Wikipedia)
• Tanaecia lepidea (Butterflies of India)
• Paresh Kale's Blog
• iNaturalist record

Common Crow Butterfly (Euploea core)

The common crow (Euploea core) is a common butterfly found in South Asia to Australia. In Australia it is sometimes referred as the Australian crow. It belongs to the crows and tigers subfamily Danainae (Danaini tribe) of Family Nymphalidae.

This chrysalis or pupa I photographed in Bangalore, India just looked like a pure gold pendent, though the beauty is difficult to capture in camera.
















References:

• Euploea core (Wikipedia)
• Euploea core (Butterflies of India)