Butterfly of the Month - May 2024
The Purple Crow (Euploea tulliolus) reaches a wingspan of 60mm when female, with the male extending to 56mm, slightly smaller than the Common Crow (Euploea corinna).
The butterfly starts its life cycle as a barrel shaped faint yellow egg approximately 1mm in height. It features longitudinal grooves and ridges which are crossed by less pronounced horizontal lines.
The first instar during the larval stage is green and almost translucent, gradually changing the green base colour through the instar stages until the larva shows a black base with white continuous or interrupted lines going across, a white lateral line along the body together with light orange to yellow markings just above that line, three pairs of tentacles emerging from the thorax (larval body). The head is black with white markings. The subsequent pupa is shiny, silvery similar to the pupa of the Common Crow.
The adult’s wing appearance allows for differentiation between male and female (when viewing the upper wing side) as the male forewing features a pronounced bow along the inner edge (dorsum) while it is straight in the female.
The dark chocolate brown upper wing side shows a hint of purplish blue. The forewing is marked with large white spots at the wing tip (apex) which reduce in size moving down the wing. A row of very small white spots runs along the outer wing edge (termen), but is scarcely visible.
The hindwing carries two rows of tiny dot like white specks along the outer edge also barely visible. In the male, a cream area marks the sex scales which are usually (and in our image of the adult on right) covered by the curved dorsum described above.
The wing underside is brown and carries similar markings to the upper side. However, it has a central white spot on the forewing, in our image obscured by the hindwing.
Burny Vine (Trophis scandens) is the known larval host plant, growing predominantly in riparian areas in Brisbane. Breeding occurs during the active growth season of Burny Vine with eggs laid on young shoots.
Images: CL – Cassandra Lynn; CM – Cliff Meyer; MP – Martin Purvis, purvision.com; SA – Sylvia Alexander; TL – Trevor Lambkin
