Apaturina erminea

Apaturina erminea
Male of Apaturina erminea papuana.
Mounted specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Division: Rhopalocera
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Apaturinae
Genus: Apaturina
Species: A. erinea
Binomial name
Apatrurina erminea
(Cramer, 1779)
Synonyms
  • Papilio erminea Cramer, 1779
  • Apaturina aruensis Joicey & Talbot, 1924
  • Apaturina splendidissima Bryk, 1939
  • Apaturina principalis Bryk, 1939
  • Apaturina androtropa Bryk, 1939
  • Apaturina erminea var. microps Röber, 1894

Apaturina erminea, common name Turquoise Emperor, is a species of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Apaturinae.

Description

Apaturina erminea has a wingspan of about 70 millimetres (2.8 in), and males measure marginally larger than females. The uppersides of the forewings are black with an iridescent blue-green base, two white small spots at the apex and a diagonal series of pale yellow patches across each wing. The uppersides of the hindwings are completely iridescent blue-green in males, or chestnut brown in females,[1] with an eyespot on each wing. The undersides are quite similar but the basic color is grayish-brown, without iridescence.

Food and behaviour

The adults feed on various liquids, as rotting fruits and sap. The caterpillars feed on Celtis latifolia (Ulmaceae). Males are very fast flyers,[1] but settle for long periods in trees, where they perch head down and wings closed, more than 7m from the ground.[1]

Distribution

This species can be found in Indonesia (Aru Islands, Irian Jaya, Maluku), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands up to northern Australia. In Australia it is limited to lowland tropical rainforest in the Iron Range.[1]

Subspecies

Gallery

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Braby, Michael F. (2004). Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia. CSIRO Publishing. p. 174. ISBN 0643090274.

External links


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