Great eggfly
| Great eggfly | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
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| Female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Hypolimnas |
| Species: | H. bolina |
| Binomial name | |
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Hypolimnas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Subspecies | |
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Eight, see text |
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| Synonyms | |
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Eight, see text
Hypolimnas bolina, the great eggfly, common eggfly or in New Zealand the blue moon butterfly is a species of nymphalid butterfly.
H. bolina is a black-bodied butterfly with a wingspan of about 70–85 millimetres (2.8–3.3 in). The species has a high degree of sexual dimorphism. The female is mimetic with multiple morphs.
The upperside of the wings is jet black, offset with three pairs of white spots, two on the forewing and one on the hindwing. These spots are surrounded by purple iridescence. In addition, the upperside of the hindwing bears a series of small white dots.
The upperside of the wings of the female is a brownish black and does not have any spots like those of the male. The edges bear white markings which are similar to those of the common Indian crow.
Female, underside
Male, underside
Eggs
Caterpillar of race bolina
Pupa of race bolina
H. bolina is found in Madagascar in the west, through to South and Southeast Asia, the South Pacific islands (French Polynesia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa and Vanuatu), and occurs in parts of Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.
H. bolina is a fairly common butterfly found in lightly wooded country, deciduous forests, thick and moist scrub, and the greener parts of human habitats.
To the west the female is monomorphic, mimicking species of the oriental and Australasian danaid genus Euploea. Eastwards H. bolina is frequently polymorphic and most forms are then non-mimetic. In areas where it resembles Euploea the butterfly has usually been designated a Batesian mimic.
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Wikipedia