 The
Tree Nymph is always a show-stealer whenever it makes its appearance during
butterfly watching walks in Singapore. It never fails to draw delighted
ooohhhs and aahhhs from the observers as it floats effortlessly amongst
the treetops in the nature reserves, as though at the mercy of the breezes.
There are four species of the genus
Idea
in Malaysia - I. stolli, I. lynceus, I. hypermnestra and the extremely
rare I. leuconoe. In Singapore, I. stolli logani (and recently,
I. leuconoe) have been observed.
The butterfly is pale whitish
grey with black spots with the veins black dusted. Amongst the four species,
I.
stolli logani is the smallest, with an average wingspan of 180 mm.
Several individuals can sometimes
be spotted, frolicking amongst the treetops. Occasionally, a number of
them can be found around a flowering tree, particularly of the Eugenia
species. The males can be distinguished by its sharper forewings and smaller
size and they also extrude a pair of yellow hair pencils from the abdomen
when handled. |
Next Species