Description : The male of the Banded Royal is a deep shining blue with comparatively narrow black distal borders, with a visual brand of differently coloured and more densely packed scales at the forewing cells end. The female is brown above with black eyespots at the tornal area. The underside is white, with a broad purple brown distal border, of which in the inner half is more deeply coloured. The species possess two pairs of dissimilar tails, one at vein 1b, which is ciliate throughout, and the other at vein two which is white-tipped. Habitat & habits : This species was previously observed nearly ten years ago in 1997 in the forested areas on the fringe of the central catchment reserves. It has not been seen during the ensuing years, until in 2006, a number were seen feeding on the ripened inflorescence of Melastoma malabathricum . It was interesting that most of those seen were females and a few were apparently trying to oviposit on a parasitic plant growing on the Melastoma bushes. Other Observations : The butterfly is a fast-flyer, and even when feeding, stays still only for short periods of time. Early
Stages : The larva is a unicolourous green and has
been found on the parasitic plant Loranthus elasticus. |
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