Doleschallia bisaltide

Doleschallia bisaltide (Doleschallia bisaltide)

Phylum — arthropoda
Class — insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family — nymphalidae

Genus – doleschallia

Appearance

The caterpillar is black with cream spots and blue and red markings. It is covered sparsely in branched black spines, and has a pair of hairy horns on its head.

The adult butterflies have wings shaped so that the resting butterfly (with the wings closed over its back) looks like a leaf. There is a small tail to the hind wings. The upper surfaces of the wings are orange with a broad dark area around the wingtips. The undersides purplish-brown with a vein-like mark running across both the fore and hind wings. The butterfly's wingspan is about 60-70 mm.

Habitat

Doleschallia bisaltide occurs in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Palawan, Sulawesi and north-eastern Australia.

Behavior

Doleschallia bisaltide demonstrates daily activity. The butterflies have a strong, direct and very rapid flight. Males imbibe moisture from damp sand and rocks on riverbanks and roadsides. If disturbed they fly up rapidly but re-settle nearby on walls or tree trunks, assuming a downward-facing posture, with wings closed.

The caterpillars feed nocturnally, hiding by day in debris on the ground by their foodplant.

Diet

The caterpillars feed on the foliage of various species from the family Acanthaceae.

The adults of the species forage for flower nectar.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. The eggs are pale yellow and spherical, and are laid in small clusters on young growth of a foodplant. It is better to keep the caterpillars in terrariums for 6-8 insects. You need to put a pot with a forage plant in the terrarium. The temperature is 22-25 ^oC at the humidity of 65-75%. The pupa is smooth and brown, with a curvy black line along each side, and a few yellow spots. The butterfly lives 2-3 weeks.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours. You can feed butterflies with honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10.