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Saturday 11 April 2015

A-Z Challenge 2015 - Butterflies 'J'

My butterfly theme is proving more difficult than I thought but more serious than what I found for - 

J - Jokers and Jesters

I discovered these in India, Indonesia and Africa. 


Joker caterpillar
The Joker butterfly (Bythia ilithyia) is sometimes called the Spotted Joker. Bythia is a genus of nymphalid butterflies commonly called the Jokers - I haven't discovered why.

Joker butterfly
The Jokers with their orange and black markings are found in Africa and India. Attracted to rotting fruit, they frequently open and close their wings when resting.

At Manokwan in a Western Papua rain forest the larvae of the Common Jester may be found feeding on nettles like the caterpillar below.

Common Jester caterpillar (Symbrenthia hippoclus)
My Common Jester butterfly from India is commonly spotted in hilly forests between 300 and 1500 metres high. They fly from March to December.

Common Jester (Symbrenthia lilaea)
This was photographed at Samsing in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. I now have to find out what is the difference in the species as the caterpillar and butterfly have different Latin names.

So the Joker and the Jester are teasing me even if their colouring is similar.


Love is like a butterfly
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

I feel it when you're with me
It happens when you kiss me
That rare and gentle feeling that I feel inside
Your touch is soft and gentle

Photo attributions:
  • Joker caterpillar: 3 March 2014, by Chandu Bandi, CC BY-SA 3.0
  • The Joker Butterfly at Singanallur Lake, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India: 11 September 2009, by K Mohan Ray - CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Symbrenthia hippoclus larva: Indonesia, W-Papua, Manokwan, 13 August 2010, upload by benchard, by Guido Bohne from Tangerand, Indonesia
  • Common Jester: Samsing, Darjeeling, West Bengal, 19 March 2008 by J M Gary - CC BY-SA 3.0


4 comments:

Jo said...

Incredible that butterflies seem to be everywhere and yet one mostly doesn't take a lot of notice of them.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Bob - they are similarly coloured aren't they ... but I really don't like the look of the Jester caterpillar .. yugghy! Fascinating you've found some butterflies from overseas .. cheers Hilary

Kristin said...

I would hate to run into that second caterpillar anywhere! The butterflies are lovely though.

Jeffrey Scott said...

Great photos of the butterflies. Lots of interesting information. Thanks for sharing.