Life History of Fulvous Pied Flat (Pseudocoladenia dan dhyana)
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| Female of Fulvous Pied Flat |
Butterfly description:
Both wings are reddish brown above and below. Forewing has a dark submarginal fascia, and the hindwing is traversed by irregular lines composed of dark, diffuse patches. Male with two larger yellow hyaline spots at the end of the forewing cell, which are conjoined to form a single, outwardly, deeply indented spot facing the forewing edge, and there is a small spot above in space 11; there are larger spots in space 2 and 3, small sub-apical spots in space 6-8, and sometime a tiny spot in space 1b contiguous with spot in space 2. The female has much smaller spots and the lower cell spot may be absent.
Host plant description:
Cyathula prostrata - Hookweed (recorded in both Malaysia and Singapore)
Achyranthes aspera - Chaff Flower (recorded in Sulawesi)
Photo of host plants:
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| Host Plant: Cyathula prostrata |
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| Close-up view of the host plant |
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| Host plant flower and zoom-in view |
Host plant from Tat Mok Waterfall, Phetchabun, Thailand
Early stage description:
The egg is dome-shaped with vertical line, yellowish white when freshly laid, and turn pinkish after 1 day. Egg is laid singly on the upperside of a leaf. The caterpillar eats just enough shell to emerge, and leave the remaining egg shell untouched. Egg is about 0.73-0.75 mm in diameter, and 17-19 longitudinal linear ridges.
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| Three views of the egg of Fulvous Pied Flat, empty shell on the right |
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| Egg on the host plant |
The 1st instar caterpillar has cylindrical-shaped body, with dorso-lateral reddish marking along each side of the body, and has a transverse black line behind the black shiny head capsule, short white satae found on the body. This stage take about 4 days.
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| 1st instar, late stage |
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| Leaf shelter of 1st instar Fulvous Pied Flat |
The 2nd instar caterpillar has reduced dorso-lateral reddish marking along the each side of the body, this instar lasts about 4 days.
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The 3rd instar caterpillar looks similar in appearance as the 2nd instar caterpillar, the body now has distinctive white spots, and dorso-lateral line on each side of the body. This instar lasts about 5-6 days.
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| 3rd instar caterpillar |
The 4th instar caterpillar looks almost identical to the earlier instar, with visible different in term of size, and lighter brown of head capsule. This stage lasts about 6-7 days.
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| 4th intar caterpillar |
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| Leaf shelter of caterpillar in the field |
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| 5th instar caterpillar, side view of body and front head view |
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| 5th instar caterpillar. Male caterpillar on top, female at the bottom. |
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| Side view of the late 5th instar caterpillar |
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| 2 views of a pre-pupatory stage caterpillar |
The pupa is light green, it has 1 small dark reddish brown projections on each side of the mesothorax. The pupa changed to amber-brown 2 days before pupation take place, and becomes almost dark brown 1 day before eclosion. Pupation takes place in the leaf shelter made by the last instar caterpillar.
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| 2 view of a pupa of the Fulvous Pied Flat |
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| 2 view of the mature pupa (2 days before eclosion) |
Special note:
1. There're several minor typo on the common name on some website - Fluvous Pied Flat.
2. Pisuth Ex-Amnuay didn't contribute to the book of The Butterflies of Hong Kong by M. J. Bascombe, G. Johnston and F.S. Bascombe
3. There's no record of the species in "The Butterflies of Hong Kong" book above. The species also not occurs in HK.
Reference:
- The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society, 1992.
- The Life Histories of Asian Butterflies Vol. 2 by Igarashi & Fukuda
