146. Papilio memnon agenor (The Great Mormon)

Number: 146

Family: Papilioniidae
Sub-Family: Papilioniinae

Species: Papilio memnon agenor Linnaeus, 1758

Common name(s): The Great Mormon

Photography locations: Hanoi City, Ba Vi N.P. (Hanoi)

Papilio memnon is a species that can exploit a variety of habitats due to its ability to feed on a wide range of Rutaceous plants, including cultivated Citrus. This butterfly is very common and can also be seen all year round in the middle of big cities - the cultivation of Citrus plants has ensured this.

Alfred Russel Wallace first described the remarkable polymorphic nature of P. memnon, which exists as 13 subspecies and in addition, females show a large diversity of morphological and coloration forms, many of which are mimetic of other unpalatable papilionid species (Batesian mimicry). Female morphological variations include: presence or absence of tails, hindwing pattern, forewing pattern, color of the basal triangle on the forewing, and abdomen color.

P. memnon agenor is the taxon occurring in Vietnam. Three forms of female are known in the country viz. f.agenor, f.alcanor and f.distantianus, whereas males are monomorphic and non-mimetic. Males are much more commoner - or at least much more frequently sighted - than females.

Papilio memnon agenor, male (Ba Vi, April 2017)

Papilio memnon agenor courtship, with the female (on top) displaying the tailless agenor form (Hanoi, April 2015)

 The male, feeding on Lantana flowers
Males sometimes imbibe mineralised moisture from wet ground but both sexes are more commonly seen when nectaring at flowering bushes

Male is tailless, above deep blue to black, red patch at the base of the wings on the underside

Papilio memnon agenor female form agenor 

Female form agenor on Duranta erecta - an extremely popular nectar source for a wide variety of butterflies. Widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical gardens throughout the world, and has become naturalized in many places.

Papilio memnon agenor female form alcanor. This tailed form is a mimic of the unpalatable (toxic) Atrophaneura swallowtails, while form agenor is non-mimetic

Another female displaying the tailless agenor form (February 2014, Hanoi), showing very dark forewings

Puddle party at water seepage on a rocky slope at a riverbank (Tam Dao, mid-June 2016) with 5 Papilio species (1 nephelus chaon, 2 helenus, 3 bianor gladiator, 4 polytes, 5 memnon) + Graphium eurypylus cheronus (6)

145. Graphium agamemnon (The Tailed Jay)

Number: 145

Family: Papilioniidae
Sub-Family: Papilioniinae

Species: Graphium agamemnon (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common name(s): The Tailed Jay, Green-spotted Triangle, Tailed Green Jay

Photography location: Hanoi City, Tam Dao (Vinh Phuc Prov.)

Monastyrskii & Devyatkin (2016) listed 20 Graphium species recorded in Vietnam viz. cloanthus, sarpedon, doson, evemon, eurypylus, chironides, leechi, arycles, agamemnon, phidias, macareus, megarus, xenocles, agetes, antiphates, aristeus, nomius, mullah, mandarinus, eurous.

Graphium agamemnon is one of the most widespread species in the genus, being found from India and Sri Lanka to south China, and through the archipelago to Papua New Guinea, Queensland and the Solomon Islands.

This bright green spotted species is common throughout Vietnam, both in forests and towns, due to its ability to utilize many different larval foodplants in families Annonaceae and Magnoliaceae. It can generally be seen throughout the year, at least in small numbers, and is sometimes very common.

The swift-flying adults can be observed regularly in urban parks

Both sexes commonly nectar at Lantana...

... or Bidens flowers

Specimen resting on a leaf - a not to be missed photo op.!

A male puddling along a riverbank - not a common sight  also

Graphium agamemnon mating pair

144. Papilio protenor euprotenor (The Spangle)

Number: 144

Family: Papilioniidae
Sub-Family: Papilioniinae

Species:  Papilio protenor euprotenor Fruhstorfer,1908

Common name(s): The Spangle 

Photography location: Cuc Phuong N.P. (Ninh Binh Prov.)

Upperside: velvety indigo-blue black, duller on the forewing than on the hindwing.
Tornal angle marked with red.

Spangles mudpuddling with Yellow Helen (Papilio nephelus chaon) - Cuc Phuong, July 2016

Congregation of mud-puddling Papilio species (P. protenor (1 in flight), P. polytes, P. nephelus) + 1 Prioneris thestylis 

 Papilio protenor nectaring on Lantana flowers (Ba Vi foothills, December 2016)

Papilio protenor (at bottom) and Papilio memnon (Great Mormon).
These two species show very similar uppersides

Underside of P. protenor (at bottom) and P. memnon - the differences are obvious.
P. protenor lacks any red marks at the base of both wings, unlike memnon (and also alcmenor), and the HW has a series of submarginal red lunules from space 1a to space 7 which are somewhat variable in size

143. Faunis eumeus (The Large Faun)

Number: 143

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Amathusiinae

Species: Faunis eumeus (Drury, 1770)

Common name(s): The Large Faun

Photography locations: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.), Huu Lien N.R. (Lang Son Prov.)

According to Monastyrskii  & Devyatkin (2016), 5 Faunis species have been recorded in Vietnam viz. F. eumeus (N. and C. Vietnam), F. canens (N. and C.), F. excelsa (N. and C.), F. bicoloratus (C.) and F. centrala (C.).

Centrala and excelsa have Up of both wings grey. The 3 other species have brown Up. 

F. eumeus show large submarginal dots on the Un of both wings. In N. Vietnam, individuals have a broad yellowish subapical band. In other parts of the country, this band is either weakly developed or absent.

This species fly very close to the ground and can be seen both in lowland and mountain forests 

Range: N. & C. Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, N. & N.E. Thailand, S.E. China

Faunis eumeus and F. excelsa side by side (Huu Lien, May 2016)
Both species show a series of large rounded submarginal whitish dots. But Un of eumeus is reddish-brown, whereas Un of excelsa is grey-brown. Moreover, excelsa is larger in average.

Voucher specimen from Tam Dao, upperside 

Same specimen, underside

References:

Butterflies of Vietnam, Vol. 3: Nymphalidae: Danainae; Amathusiinae (A.L. Monastyrskii, 2011)

142. Troides helena cerberus (The Common Birdwing)

Number: 142

Family: Papilioniidae
Sub-Family: Papilioniinae

Species: Troides helena cerberus (Felder & Felder,1865)

Common name(s): The Common Birdwing

Photography location: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.)

There are 21 Troides species. All show black elongated forewings and extensive areas of metallic golden yellow on the hindwings. Two species of Troides species have been recorded in Vietnam : helena and aeacus. Both are listed in the Vietnam's Red Data Book (Vietnamese: Sách đỏ Việt Nam).

Troides helena is listed in Appendix II of Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) as are all other Troides spp.

This species is seasonally common in hilly forested areas, with  occasional specimens found outside the forest. Specimens of both  sexes may often be observed feeding at flowering shrubs on forested hillsides. Males exhibit patrolling behaviour, waiting for females to appear, and interacting territorially with males of  aeacus and Pachliopta aristolochiae.

Upperside wing pattern of male (top) and female (bottom)

Male : FW black, HW yellow with black markings, including marginal spots along the HW margin, but no internal black dusting (suffusion) on the inner edges of these spots (unlike aeacus).

Female : larger than male, FW black with grey markings along the veins. No white area in cell of FW. In aeacus, the grey veins-stripes are very broad and prominent and extend well into the cell.

Underside wing pattern of male (top) and female (bottom)

 Male - close-up on underside HW pattern

Female - close-up on underside HW pattern

A male gathering nectar from flowers at Tam Dao - some of the very few shots I managed to get in the field (they always fly too high).

Another male.

141. Abisara echerius (The Plum Judy)

Number: 141

Family: Riodiniidae
Sub-Family: Riodiniinae

Species: Abisara echerius (Stoll, 1790)

Common name(s): The Plum Judy

Photography location: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.)

According to Monastyrskii & Devyatkin (2016), 11 Abisara species are currently known from Vietnam.

Abisara echerius is represented in Vietnam by two subspecies: echerius (Lang Son and northern areas near Chinese border) and paionea (N., C. and S.).

Male Abisara echerius paionea, Tam Dao foothills

Male Abisara echerius paionea - wing pattern of the underside (left) and the upperside (right)

Abisara echerius, probably subsp. echerius (Tam Đường District, Lai Chau Prov., January 2017)

140. Iton semamora (The Common Wight)

Number: 140

Family: Hesperiidae

Sub-Family : Hesperiinae

Species: Iton semamora (Moore, [1866])

Common name(s): The Common Wigh

Photography location: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.)

Two species of Iton are recorded from Vietnam: I. semamora semamora (N., C. & S.) and I. watsonii (C.).

139. Hasora badra badra (The Common Awl)

Number: 139

Family: Hesperiidae

Sub-Family : Coeliadiinae

Species: Hasora badra badra (Moore, 1857)

Common name(s): The Common Awl

Photography location: Hanoi City

Female Hasora badra resting on the underside of a leaf (Hanoi, April 2015)
In both sexes, HW with a white spot at end-cell and a long subtornal white spot
FW of female with yellowish spots in cell, in spaces 2 and 3, and small subapical spots in spaces 6-8 (FW of male unspotted)

Photos captured with a 400mm lens during a birding stroll (no macro lens in the bag...). I had to step back 4-5 meters, which explain the low image quality...

138. Notocrypta curvifascia curvifascia (The Restricted Demon)

Number: 138

Family: Hesperiidae

Sub-Family : Hesperiinae

Species: Notocrypta curvifascia curvifascia (Felder & Felder, 1862)

Common name(s): The Restricted Demon

Photography location: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.), Tam Đường District (Lai Chau Prov.)

The genus Notocrypta (the "Demons") comprises 13 species, among them 4 have been recorded in Vietnam: N. paralysos asawa, N. clavata theba, N. curvifascia curvifascia & N. feisthamelii alysos (Monastyrskii & Devyatkin, 2016). All are blackish brown species with an oblique white band and white spot(s) on FW.

Notocrypta curvifascia curvifascia, Tam Dao foothills (July 2016)
FW with subapical spots in spaces 6 to 8, and dots in spaces 3-5

Another specimen from Tam Dao (October 2016)

Same specimen
Note that the FW discal band not continued above the cell to the costal border (unlike N. feisthamelii)

N. curvifascia feeding on Crassocephalum rubens (Lai Chau Prov., January 2017) - more colourful than the individuals I usually see at Tam Dao

137. Rapala cf. rectivitta (The Shot Flash)

Number: 137

Family: Lycaeniidae
Sub-family:  Thecliinae

Species: Rapala cf. rectivitta

Common name(s): The Shot Flash

Photography location: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.)

The genus Rapala comprises of about 30 species, and 16 are recorded from Vietnam. 

136. Ancistroides nigrita diocles (The Chocolate Demon)

Number: 136

Family: Hesperiidae
Sub-Family: Hesperiinae

Species: Ancistroides nigrita diocles (Moore, [1866])

Common name(s): The Chocolate Demon

Photography location: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.)

Ancistroides nigrita diocles is known from the North and Center of the country, A. nigrita maura from the South (Monastyrskii  & Devyatkin, 2016).

It is a relatively large skipper. On the upperside, the wings are dark brown and unmarked. On the underside, the wings are brown with marginal areas of both wings paler than the ground colour. The proboscis is particularly long compared to other skipper species.
More often found within the shade of the forest but will come to clearings and trails dappled with sunshine.  

135. Cirrochroa tyche (The Common Yeoman)

Number: 135

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Heliconiinae

Species: Cirrochroa tyche (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1861)

Common name(s): The Common Yeoman

Photography location: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.)

Cirrochroa tyche puddling on wet soil

Underwing pattern