Doi Suthep-Pui NP, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Family : Nymphalidae
Sub-Family : Limenitidinae
Species : Parasarpa dudu dudu
An uncommon but attractive species found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, southern China, Taiwan, and Indonesia (Sumatra). It is a medium size butterfly with a wingspan of 55-65mm, the female being larger than the male. Habitat is in primary forest at elevations between 600m and 2500m. Males are strongly territorial and patrol their beat in the treetops but periodically settle on the ground to imbibe mineralised moisture.
Larval food plant is Lonicera sp. (Caprifoliaceae) and in Thailand specifically Lonicera japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle). Despite the popularity of this plant as a garden species the White Commadore usually sticks to the forest and is not known to visit urban areas. The larvae themselves are very strange-looking creatures and I find them hard to describe other than to say that they look a little like a spikey slug.
This isn't the best of photographs but it is the only one of this species that I've ever seen and so I'm posting it for the record.
All my insect pics are single, handheld shots of live insects in wild situations.
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