108. Polyura athamas athamas (The Common Nawab)

Number: 108

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Charaxiinae

Species: Polyura athamas athamas (Drury, 1773)

Common name(s): The Common Nawab

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

The genus Polyura  is represented in Vietnam by 10 species – athamas, arja, moori, jalysus, delphis, narcaea, eudamippus, nepenthes, dolon and shreiber (Monastyrskii & Devyatkin, 2016).

Polyura athamas are medium-sized, heavy-bodies butterflies with rapid, strong and sometimes erratic flights. It has a habit of perching high on a spot in a tree, and keeps returning to the same perch after making swift flights in the vicinity to chase intruders away. The adults have also been observed to puddle on wet ground, carrion, faeces and tree sap.

Polyura athamas - my sweaty camera bag was a fine bait!

Mud-puddling with some Vindula erota (Cuc Phuong, May 2016)

An individual feeding on a serpent's carcass (Cuc Phuong, May 2016), showing a "weird" wing pattern