(Partial) Life Histories: Euthalia phemius phemius (White-edged Blue Baron)

Date Created: 06-May-2022

Euthalia phemius phemius (White-edged Blue Baron)

The Final Instar.

I only have the final instar for this species. You can see in the photo that is is adorned with long spines, like all species in this genus and closely related genera. Unlike many lepidopteran larvae, the spines here cause no ill-effects (not even itching). There purposes seems to be more for camouflage than for direct protection against predators. They have a habit of resting centrally in the centre of leaves, so that the dorsal stripes appears like the central vein of the leaf and the lateral spines like the the other leaf veins.

The Pupa

This was taken 4 days after I collected the larva.

The Adult

The adult emerged 10 days after the photo of the pupa was taken. This is a male.

The adults of this species are sexually dimorphic. The image at the top of this article, shows the female.

Note

So, a very poor record of the life history of this species. Unfortunately, I cannot find a better one to link to.