Hypolimnas anomala (Wallace, 1869)
Malayan Eggfly
(previously known as Diadema anomala)
NYMPHALINAE,   NYMPHALIDAE,   PAPILIONOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hypolimnas anomala
(Photo: courtesy of Oldman19510 , Bali)

The Caterpillar of this species is black spotted with yellow. It has yellow branched spines tipped with black. Its head is yellow with two branched black spines. It feeds on various species of URTICACEAE such as

  • Bush Nettle (Pipturus arborescens),
  • Pouzolz's Bush (Pouzolzia species), and
  • Mountain Nettle (Villebrunea).

    Hypolimnas anomala
    (Photo: courtesy of Oldman19510 , Bali)

    The pupa is brown with several dark spikes on each segment. It is by its cremaster on some nearby vertical surface.

    Hypolimnas anomala
    (Photo: courtesy of Les Day, Sulawesi)

    The adults have forewings that are brown with a purple sheen, with variable markings, including a subterminal double arc of white spots on each wing, and three faint pale streaks toward the centre of each forewing,. The hindwings are are paler, especially toward the rear, with dark veins.

    Hypolimnas anomala
    (Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

    The undersides are similar. The wingspan is about 7 cms. The adult butterflies only have four legs.

    Hypolimnas anomala
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Marcel Silvius, Bali)

    The species occurs as various subspecies across south-east Asia, including:

  • Bali,
  • Japan,
  • Philippines,
  • Sumatra,
  • Taiwan,

    and also in Australia in

  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.


    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 566-567.

    Alfred Russel Wallace,
    Notes on Eastern Butterflies,
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
    1869, Part 4, pp. 285-287, No. 15.


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    (updated 3 January 2010, 5 March 2017, 21 September 2019, 22 June 2020)