Wisley "Butterflies in the Glasshouse"

[MikeOxon]

Thank you very much, Mark and Guy. I'll edit my original post to reflect your i.d's. As always, it's good to learn from the collective wisdom available on this site.

I think the pupae and caterpillars are Blue Morphos - can anyone confirm?

Mike

[Padfield]

The caterpillars are Caligo sp. - owl butterflies. I don't know about the pupae, though they do look the right shape for Morpho.

Guy

[MikeOxon]

Once again, thanks Guy.

Mike

[Philzoid]

Thought I'd add some of my pictures taken last Sunday 22nd and a few more to show some of the species that weren't present this year. First of all if anyone is thinking of going on the weekend, prepare to wait for around 45 minutes to get in. Crowds seem to me to be bigger than last year (see Mike's comments) and this is borne out by the organisers sending the people 'in through the out door', which allows for a longer queue under cover.
In total, this is the third year in a row that I've been to this event. Year on year the species pictured on the handout don't appear to change, but it seems the ones you actually get to see do. In those three years I've yet to see the Postman:- Heleconius melpomene; Giant Orange tip:- Hebomoia glaucippe; African Swallowtail:- Papilio dardanus; Green-banded Peacock:- Papilio palinurus or Tailed Jay:- Graphium agamemnon. Of course it could just be coincidental due to me not turning up at the correct time over the long emergence period?
Also as Guy and Mark have stated, there is the problem of correct ID for the Asian Swallowtail / Great Mormon / Common Mormon / Scarlet Swallowtail / Common Rose Swallowtail / Bat-winged Swallowtail (Big Billy?) group and the Diadem; common and great eggfly group. I think I might do a separate posting on the Identification board with some of last year's pictures for ID help/confirmation.

The first 5 pictures are those photoed on Sunday.

Lots of these roosting with a few taking to the wing and giving us a glimpse of their irridescent blue

This beauty seemed to enjoy all the attention it was getting.

A first for me. Lovely intricate markings. Orange-red upperside seen on flight

An old butterfly house favourite. No blue clines were seen.

Another first for me. Saw four different examples if this species

The most numerous butterfly on display. Plenty taking to the wing too

Coukdn't resist putting in this (larger) example of the Malay Lacewing

Identification required for this one, Danaid group?

The following species were photo'ed last year and were seen on this year's visit:

Owl, Caligo memnon with wings open

One example seen this year on the glasshouse ceiling ... a place where many butterflies ended up unfortunately

Nice fresh example seen this year was out of photo range. Lovely to watch this species in flight

Underside of the Malachite

Common Morpho open wing

The following were seen last year but not this year:

Can't find the common name of "Big Billy" for A semperi anywhere on the net?

This species was as numerous as M. peleides last year

Underside of M. achilles. Compare with peleides

Last but not least, a little glasswing

Will try and get down there again this weekend but will go early to avoid the queues

Phil

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Phil,

Glad you've managed to get to Wisley. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have been?

Identification required for this one, Danaid group?

This is one of the ones you think you've not seen, the African Swallowtail (Papilio dardanus).

Your a braver man than me if your heading there at the weekend!

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Philzoid]

This is one of the ones you think you've not seen, the African Swallowtail (Papilio dardanus).

Thanks Mark. It crossed my mind after I'd posted that it might be that species ..honestly .. was in too much of a hurry to get it posted after numerous aborted attempts due to IE crashing (and (seemingly) cured by a modem and router re-boot)

Your a braver man than me if your heading there at the weekend!

Yes, I'm hoping to get my daughters along on Sunday, but to avoid the long wait I'll need to go early ... not much chance of that happening . Also I've come around to Chris C's idea that I should take along my DSLR for some much needed practice.

Phil

[Vince Massimo]

I made my first ever visit to Wisley yesterday as the guest of Mark Colvin . I was very impressed with the setting and the variety and number of butterflies on show. Of course the crowds were no surprise. We were the first in at 10am and I stayed until closing time at 4pm. During the course of trying to record some photogenic poses I saw some interesting behavioural activity. Firstly, there was lots of mating going on, mainly between Morphos, with about 8 pairs being seen. One of these was an inter-species coupling between a male achilles and a female peleides. There was also an ovipositing Owl. The challenge of geting an open-winged Owl image was set by Mark before he left. As the afternoon wore on I found that they were tending to relax their posture a bit, but only in the deep shade.

Mating Morpho peleides - Wisley 27-Jan-12

Ovipositing Owl (Caligo memnon) - Wisley 27-Jan-12

Owl (Caligo memnon) underside - Wisley 27-Jan-12

Owl (Calico memnon) upperside - Wisley 27-Jan-12

I hope to go again as soon as the Golden Birdwings are flying
All photos were taken using flash.

Vince

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Vince,

I'm really glad you managed to make yesterday. It was good to have your company.

The challenge of geting an open-winged Owl image was set by Mark before he left.

Well done. I'll be honest ... I didn't think you'd get it!

I'll let you know when the Birdwings are about to fly.

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Mark Colvin]

Papilio memnon ssp.

Papilio memnon is a butterfly from the Australasian and Indo-Malaysian regions. It shows very strong sexual dimorphism and there are numerous subspecies, forms and variations.

During my recent trip to Wisley, I photographed the upperside of a male swallowtail. Unfortunately I did not see the underside. It wasn’t until I got home and reviewed the pictures that I realized its identification was not as clear-cut as I thought it might have been, at least not in my opinion. My initial reaction was to identify it as a male Asian Swallowtail (Papilio lowii), though I had my doubts. It may well be that this identification is correct though further research into the Papilio memnon group would suggest that Papilio lowii is in fact a subspecies of Papilio memnon i.e. Papilio memnon lowii. It would also appear there are many regional subspecies, forms and variations of memnon with mimicry also in play, particularly with the females. In addition it is highly likely that all subspecies, forms and variations will interbreed, especially in captivity.

So what is it?

For the record I think it could possibly be a cross between the subspecies lowii, the males of which have tails and generally brighter markings and one of the tailless subspecies, probably the nominate agenor - though I am by no means sure. It might also be a male Scarlet Mormon (Papilio rumanzovia) or a P. rumanzovia cross as there is a black and red eye just visible on the hindwing. I doubt if there are many people who could categorically state otherwise though I’m open to your suggestions.

Over to you ...

[Colin Knight]

Like Vince I visited Wisley last week as a guest of Mark and enjoyed 5 hours of butterfly bliss - thanks Mark! It's essential to take water. I used my Nikon D90, but by mistake took a 70-300 zoom instead of my 180 macro and was glad I did as I was able to pull in some of the distant butterflies. I also used a compact Canon G9 in macro mode which was useful when I was close to a specimen. I didn’t have a lengthy condensation problem – after 5 minutes I wiped my filter and it stayed clear. It pays to get in for the 10am opening as you have some time in a nearly empty glasshouse before the crowds turn up. I will be going again on Thursday hoping the Golden Birdwing will be out. My photos are on http://colinknight.blogspot.com/2012/01 ... rland.html

[Susie]

You've all made it look so good I am going to try to get there tomorrow afternoon if I can. I think I'll leave the camera at home though, I couldn't get anything a patch on your pictures!

[David M]

I'm very impressed by the Owl open wing shot. Is this a one off or do they (like Holly Blues) occasionally indulge when conditions are apt?

[Philzoid]

Like Vince I visited Wisley last week as a guest of Mark and enjoyed 5 hours of butterfly bliss -

Excellent pictures Colin and a 5 hour stint ... impressive . What I was surpirsed to see was the Giant Orange Tip Hebomoia glaucippe , which is always on the brochure but never seen it seems.. then I noticed you mentioned it was dead . Clearly its not one of their cardboard cut-outs but nor does it look like its a deceased butterfly. Had it been put on the flower for the press

The tailed Jay is another species I've yet to see. What are my chances of seeing it next weekend, for my third visit in as many weeks?

Vince mentioned mating Common Morphos and I noticed you had a picture of a mating pair of Asian Swallowtails. Below is a mating pair of Owl butterflies. They were together like that, the male tucked in between the wings of the female for at least 2 hours. It was amazing how many people just walked past them thinking it was just another single Owl butterfly . It set me thinking what would happen to the eggs and larvae as there was plenty of Musa foodplant in the glasshouse. I asked one of the Wisley guides who said that the eggs are picked off and sent back to the suppliers. "But what about the ones you don't find"? "We spray the plants with insecticide" . I suppose they've got to do that but you'd hope they might put a plant or two aside for such purposes

Finally, Colin, your Indian Owl butterfly is labelled Kallima paralekta. I saw plenty of these Indian leaf butterflies on Sunday, but thought that some if not all, might be inachus based on the fact that paralekta is sexually dimorphic (I think) but the numerous specimens I saw all looked the same?

Mating Caligo memnon.

Kallima inachus?

Haven't Identified this one yet

Phil

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Phil,

I'm glad you got back to Wisley and hope you didn't have to queue too long?

The tailed Jay is another species I've yet to see. What are my chances of seeing it next weekend, for my third visit in as many weeks?

Very good as they are there though not in large numbers.

Haven't Identified this one yet

This is a female Diadem or Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina).

I'll see what I can do with the Leafwing.

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Wurzel]

Alright Phil, some cracking shots there! I'd go with inachus as well as it looks a lot like the species that I photographed back in December at Bristol Zoo, and they only have the one species there.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Philzoid]

This is a female Diadem or Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina).

I'll see what I can do with the Leafwing.

Thanks Mark. I posted on the Identification board to avoid deflecting attention away from your last post on this board which I thought merited a serious response and not a who's who of butterfly I.D. Nevertheleass in essence you have confirmed what I thought which is that identification is almost impossible not least by the lack of concensus on taxonomy.

From Wisley's point of view their aim is to get hold of any pretty butterflies (taking into account supply and cost) to put on a display for punters the majority of whom I suspect are not much concerned about the subtle differences within the Asian Swallowtail / Great Mormon group (although the handouts show there is some emphasis put onto ID). For my part it's made me aware of a complex subject and it's been fun to delve into something I knew nothing about. Now you've pointed out that my un-identified picture was of a Great eggfly, you've opened up another group of variable butterflies and set me off searching for some more photos to upload I'm afraid .

Male Diadem/Common or Great (?) Eggfly

Male H. bolina

Male on a species handout

Males at a feeding station

Female? Great Eggfly

Female? Great Eggfly

I took most of these pictures last year and although they are not sharp, you can see that the female Great Eggfly/Diadem has brownish/orangish hindwings and white flashes on the upperwings. The butterfly identified in my earlier post is predominantly brown with no white flashes. To a novice like me it must therefore be a different species I've now found out that it is like the Great Mormon, with the female in particular being polymorphic and mimetic depending on where it comes from in it's large geographical range.

The Kallima inachus or paralekta separation is difficult too. These are some pictures take last Sunday:-

Underside of the same butterfly from the earlier post

Another Kallima with Asian Swallowtail(?)

Second Kallima underside

3rd Kallima

3rd Kallima underside

I'd go with inachus as well as it looks a lot like the species that I photographed back in December at Bristol Zoo, and they only have the one species there.

Thanks Wurzel, but now I'm beginning to think it is paralekta, mainly from the underside (not so heavy leaf rib markings) and the relative lack of a hooked forewing, perhaps Not sure the shade of blue colouration is an indicator though. BTW thanks for the comment on the photos ... taken with my new Canon, I'm getting there ...slowly .

If anyone is going to see the Wisley butterflies soon, keep a lookout for a leaf butterfly which has brown upperside wings with light-blue forewing bars. Paralekta

Thanks

Phil

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Phil,

This is certainly a can of worms …

As I’m sure you are aware from searching the internet, Hypolimnas bolina shows a high degree of sexual dimorphism and the female is mimetic with multiple morphs. To the west of its range the female mimics a number of different species of the oriental and Australasian Danaids. In these areas the butterfly is generally designated a Batesian mimic i.e. it takes on the appearance of a harmful species in order to protect it from predators. I believe that only Hypolimnas bolina is flying at Wisley. So making that assumption (and I know assumptions can be dangerous) its down to trying to confirm sex from your images:

So here goes:

1) Hypolimnas bolina (male)
2) Hypolimnas bolina (male)
3) Hypolimnas bolina (male)
4) Hypolimnas bolina (probably two males though I’m slightly doubtful of the right hand one – if you saw its upperside you would know better than me)
5) Hypolimnas bolina (female)
6) Hypolimnas bolina (female)

So on to Kallima …

I’ve been racking my brain over these. The next time I visit Oxford I’ll take a look at the specimens in the Hope collections to see if that can shed further light. I have been in communication with a UK importer and he said “I've been looking at Kallimas for many years and have not yet come up with a definitive difference between paralekta and inachus. To me K. inachus seems to be more robust than K. paralekta with more pointed wing tips. K. paralekta seems to be a little brighter in colouration with a less wavy margin to the orange band". He believed my pictures were probably of Kallima paralekta.

From what I can see of your images and comparing them to mine I would go with Kallima paralekta, at least for the uppersides, though I know both have been flying at Wisley … just to complicate matters further!

I hope this helps.

Kind regards. Mark

[Philzoid]

Thanks for the ID Mark
I've been looking on the internet for more clarity on H. bolina. It can be named "Common" or "Great" so that answers my question as to whether they were different species. The Wikipedia example shows a picture of a female which looks like the initial one I posted and you identified ... and I think is race bolina. The second one (2 pictures) appears to be race nerina. There are links on Wiki to sexual dimorphism and morphs .... fascinating subjects .

Have had no joy with differentiating K. inachus and K. paralekta male. Hope you have better luck

PS will be going back this weekend (if i can drag the kids along nice and early (10:00 a.m negligible queue's). Will be looking for G. agmemnon amongst others. Saw and photo'ed palinuris last Sunday

Phil

[Philzoid]

Although I might've said I wouldn't be posting again the butterflies at Wisley are proving ot be a nice filler for beating the winter blues. Last week was my third visit in as many weeks and was arguably the best
I Arrived at 10:00 in the morning, this time with my daughters in attendance, each of us armed with our cameras (last weeks results had restored some faith in my new DSLR ). Saturday morning (4th) was blue skies and sunshine and this had an impact in the glasshouse, with many insects on the wing moving in and around the plants and nectaring on the flowers. I was able to get shots of species I hadn't previously encountered (and hopefully some new ones for these message boards), although initially there was a 10 minute spell of trying to demist the lens and viewfinder, something I think all the photographers encounter on entry. First up was a King Swallowtail, wings spread open, seemingly content to just wait around.

King Swallowtail

This was quickly followed by a Blue-banded Morpho feeding on fruit at a food station. No amount of blowing was going to get him to open his wings though.

Blue-banded Morpho feeding

Next came a Tailed Jay which was a first for me .

Graphium agamemnon (2nd insect seen)

First Tailed Jay

As we looked at the TJ a small male Common Mormon Papilio polyetes entertained the visitors by mud-puddling on the floor. The staff were concerned it would be stood on so would move it on to a 'safer' area only for it to return and resume imbibing the salts .

Active male Common Mormon

Common Mormon, a less active example

Close by was a Clipper with blue hindwings, another first for me, followed by a Malachite, (I thought they'd all gone in the first week).

Blue Clipper

Moving on I was able to get pictures of a Leafwing butterfly. These were not as plentiful as the previous week or as obliging at opening their wings. Nevertheless I did manage to get a part open shot and a good underside shot.

Kallima paralekta(?) Indian Leafwing

Kallima paralekta(?)

Afterwards we were treated to courting Owl butterflies, first 2 then 3 then 4 and then even a 5th one joined in a spiralling flight all around us . They kept this up for over 2 minutes . No need to go to South America when you can go to Wisley . This was worth the annual membership fee alone. Common Morpho activity was also impressive too

Owl butterflies, very impressive!

Lots of open wing Owls

... and Common Blue Morphos

Just When I thought that was my lot we had this lovely male African Swallowtail settled on a direction sign . Like the King Swallowtail he stayed there for some time before flying off.

Lovely male African Swallowtail

On our way out we suddenly spotted an Owl butterfly which had escaped and was flying around the temperate zone . The butterfly then came down next ot the emergence cage and started laying on what looked like a maranta or calathea plant . The staff were made aware of this. Hopefully the eggs would be recovered and larvae reared.

Caligo memnon ovipositing

Mark Colvin has informed us that Golden Birdwings are now out. I see another trip coming on

Phil

[David M]

I scrolled down very quickly to view these photos and thought "blimey, these are good", without looking to see who had posted them. It all became clear when I scrolled back up to check.

Philzoid, those images are first class. Thanks for sharing.