249. Hypolimnas misippus (The Danaid Eggfly)

Number: 249

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764)

Common name(s): The Danaid Eggfly

Photography location: Hanoi City

The genus Hypolimnas comprises more than 30 species. It is represented in Vietnam by 2 species viz. bolina and misippus.

Hypolimnas misippus is a very widely distributed in  the tropics, native to Africa, Asia and Australia, and introduced to Caribbean islands and northern South America, and occasionally dispersing to the southern USA (Hoskins, 2012). The neotropical range may have been due to transport in slave trading ships (Butterflies and Moths of North America, 2016).

The female is one of the best examples of protective mimicry, resembling the unpalatable (to birds) Danaid Plain Tiger, Danaus chrysippus. The male however is quite different in appearance, being dark brown on the upperside, with circular white patches that reflect a deep purple sheen in bright sunlight. 

Hypolimnas misippus, male, Hanoi, November 2016
The male flies fast and somewhat erratically but settles frequently on bushes or small trees, to await passing females, ready to chase away any intruder. Like H. bolina, male H. misippus shows very strong territory habit. Whenever any butterfly fly into its territory, it chases away them aggressively, then returns back to the same spot

Same male specimen showing its underwing pattern

I have check out (with binoculars) many Danaus chrysippus in search of the female of H. misippus, but I have not been able to find a single one. She can be easily distinguished from its model by the HW without blackish spots around discal cell and scalloped marginal edge. 

248. Vanessa cardui cardui (The Painted Lady)

Number: 248

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Vanessa cardui cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common name(s): The Painted Lady, The Cosmopolitan

Photography location: Tam Đường District (Lai Chau Prov.)

V. cardui is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica (where no butterflies occur) .
Despite its incredible range, V. cardui is monotypic, i.e. there are not recognized subspecies. This probably reflects the fact that it is strongly migratory, a behavior that acts to inhibit localized population differentiation.
V. cardui is recorded in the North and central Vietnam (to Lam Dong Prov.) (Monastyrskii & Devyatkin, 2016).

 Vanessa cardui feeding on Crassocephalum rubens, Lai Chau Prov., January 2017

Same specimen

217. Junonia iphita iphita (The Chocolate Pansy)

Number: 217

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Junonia iphita iphita (Cramer, 1779)

Common name(s): The Chocolate Pansy

Photography location: Ba Vi N.P. foothills (Hanoi)

The genus Junonia comprises about 33 species, of which 11 occur in the Oriental region. Of these, 6 are found in Vietnam - iphita, atlites, orithya, hierta, almana and lemonias.

J. iphita is my 5th Junonia seen in the country - the last one in the list being hierta.

200. Bassarona teuta teuta (Doubleday, 1848)

Number: 200

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Limenitidiinae

Species: Bassarona teuta teuta (Doubleday, 1848)

Common name(s): The Banded Marquis 

Photography location: Xuan Son N.P. (Phu Tho Prov.)

This species is placed by some authors in the genus Euthalia.

Female Bassarona teuta teuta from Xuan Son N.P., on July 30, 2016.
Male is smaller and with darker background color.

200 species up ... 300 here I come. Could take some time though!

158. Junonia orithya ocyale (The Blue Pansy)

Number: 158

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Junonia orithya (Hubner, [1822])

Common name(s): The Blue Pansy

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

The genus Junonia comprises about 33 species, of which 11 occur in the Oriental region. Of these, 6 are found in Vietnam - iphita, atlites, orithya, hierta, almana and lemonias.

Junonia orithya is typical of the genus, being brightly marked with blue and orange, and possessing prominent ocelli. It is a fairly common species, although never as abundant as iphita, almana or atlites. The butterfly is found in sub-Saharan Africa, Arabia, and over most of the Oriental and Australian regions. Both sexes are similar in colour and pattern, but the male has more extensive areas of blue, and smaller ocelli on the hindwings.
This species, like most others in the genus, is found mainly in open scrub and grassland habitats. I haven't managed to photograph one yet.

 Male Junonia orithya, upperside view

Male Junonia orithya, underside view

151. Hypolimnas bolina (The Common Eggfly)

Number: 151

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Hypolimnas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common name(s): The Common Eggfly, Great Eggfly, Blue Moon Butterfly

Photography location: Hanoi City

The genus Hypolimnas comprises more than 30 species. It is represented in Vietnam by 2 species viz. bolina and misippus.

Hypolimnas bolina has many subspecies and forms in Oriental region. It is a very common butterfly, extremely adaptable, which can be found in many habitats dominated by anthropogenic activities.

Male Hypolimnas bolina

Note white subapical spots on FW and purple-washed white discal patches on both wings

Typical behavior of a male: on a leave, head down, ready to chase away any intruder

Male shows very strong territory habit. Whenever any butterfly fly into its territory, it chases away them aggressively. Then it always returns back to the same spot

 Male, underside

Another male specimen

The female, somewhat larger than male and without "white moons" on wings
This individual is feeding on Chromolaena odorata, an invasive shrub native to South and Central America - but exceptionally attractive to butterflies

Female, underside
The undersides of both sexes very similar : orange brown to dark brown, with a large prominent white discal band on both wings

118. Junonia lemonias lemonias (The Lemon Pansy)

Number: 118

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Junonia lemonias lemonias (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common name(s): The Lemon Pansy

Photography location: Van Long N.R. (Ninh Binh Prov.)

The genus Junonia comprises about 33 species, of which 11 occur in the Oriental region. Of these, 6 are found in Vietnam - iphita, atlites, orithya, hierta, almana and lemonias.

I have seen Junonia lemonias only once, in scrubby vegetation along the dyke at Van Long Nature Reserve. I am a bit surprised because, as far as I know, this species can occupy a wide range of habitats and therefore should be more common.

Junonia lemonias, Van Long N.R.

83. Kaniska canace canace (The Blue Admiral)

Number: 83

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Kaniska canace canace (Linnaeus, 1763)

Common name(s): The Blue Admiral

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

Kaniska is a monotypic genus.

Kaniska canace is a very widespread species can be found as far north as southeastern Siberia, west to Japan and Korea, east to India and Taiwan and south to Sri Lanka, Burma and parts of Indonesia with a number of well marked geographic races.

Kaniska canace is highly territorial and will chase butterflies that move into its territory

Males and females upperside deep indigo-blue black, with a postdiscal slightly sinuous blue band crossing both fore and hind wings

Underside brownish black, covered thickly with short transverse jet-black striae

76. Kallima inachus (The Orange Oakleaf)

Number: 76

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Kallima inachus (Doyère, 1840)

Common name(s): The Orange Oakleaf, The Dead Leaf, The Indian Leaf Butterfly

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

This powerful flier is often seen in dense forests, amongst undergrowth and along stream beds. It is attracted to tree sap and over-ripe fruit, and is also known to mud-puddle.

Much pursued by birds, when in danger the Orange Oakleaf flies erratically, soon dropping down into the foliage and occupying a stationary pose with wings closed, so that the birds are very often quite unable to find them. In such a pose, the butterfly resembles a dried leaf and is perfectly camouflaged.

With wings closed, it closely resembles a dry leaf with dark veins and is a spectacular and commonly cited example of camouflage. 

When the wings are open, the forewing exhibits a black apex, an orange discal band and a deep blue base.

A worn individual

A pristine one

68. Junonia atlites (The Gray Pansy)

Number: 68

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Junonia atlites atlites (Linnaeus, 1763)

Common name(s): The Gray Pansy

Photography location: Hanoi City

The genus Junonia comprises about 33 species, of which 11 occur in the Oriental region. Of these, 6 are found in Vietnam - iphita, atlites, orithya, hierta, almana and lemonias. 

Junonia atlites is found from India to Sulawesi. This species inhabits disturbed areas including forest clearings, riverbanks, roadsides and the margins of agricultural land. 

Both sexes are low flying and spend long periods basking on herbage or on the ground

67. Junonia almana almana (The Peacock Pansy)

Number: 67

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Junonia almana almana (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common name(s): The Peacock Pansy

Photography location: Hanoi City

The genus Junonia comprises about 33 species, of which 11 occur in the Oriental region. Of these, 6 are found in Vietnam - iphita, atlites, orithya, hierta, almana and lemonias. 

Junonia almana is a common species in gardens and open country throughout its range from Sri Lanka to Sulawesi. It exists in two distinct adult forms, which differ chiefly in the patterns on the underside of the wings; the dry season form has few markings, while the wet-season form has additional eyespots and lines.

A Peacock Pansy displaying its nice upperside

Wet season form with large eyespots

Individual photographed in October - dry season form with few markings on the underside of the wings

40. Symbrenthia lilaea (The Common Jester)

Number: 40

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Symbrenthia lilaea (Hewitson, 1864)

Common name(s): The Common Jester

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

There are about 14 species in the genus Symbrenthia, of which 4 are found in Vietnam (S. lilaea, S. hypselis, S. niphanda, S. leoparda). The colour and pattern of the dorsal surface is similar to that of Pantoporia species ("Lascars") but the wing shape is much more angular, and the undersides are completely different, being marbled and spotted rather than banded. 

Symbrenthia lilaea, Cuc Phuong N.P.

Note the strong tooth at vein 4 on HW

Symbrenthia lilaea with Cyrestis cocles (The Marbled Map)

Underside ochraceous orange with numerous ferruginous spots and lines, with a dark reddish band from mid-termen of FW to mid-dorsum of HW 

Symbrenthia lilaea is the commonest member of the genus in Vietnam

36. Symbrenthia hypselis cotanda (The Himalayan Jester)

Number: 36

Family: Nymphaliidae
Sub-Family: Nymphaliinae

Species: Symbrenthia hypselis cotanda Moore, 1874

Common name(s): The Himalayan Jester

Photography location: Tam Dao (Vinh Phuc Prov.), Cuu Thac-Tu Son (Hoa Binh Prov.), Xuan Son N.P. (Phu Tho Prov.)

There are about 14 species in the genus Symbrenthia, of which 4 are found in Vietnam - lilaea, hypselis, niphanda, leoparda. The former two are recorded in the north and center of the country, the latter two only from the north.

S. lilaea and S. hypselis are the commonest members of the genus in Vietnam - but the latter have narrower habitat requirements and is much less often encountered.

Symbrenthia hypselis cotanda with 2 Heliophorus sp. (Cuu Thac-Tu Son)
Upperwings of S. hypselis very similar to that of S. lilaea but the 2 species are easily separated by the underwings color pattern

Symbrenthia hypselis cotanda underside - from Tam Dao
This species is usually found singly, unlike Symbrenthia lilaea 

Symbrenthia hypselis cotanda - from Xuan Son NP, August 2016