The chemicals are then passed on to the adult butterflies. nemo photographed an Oriental Honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhyncus) raiding a wasp nest on...After we posted an account of a Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) eating a damselfly, Daniel...[…] Israeli … Ahab, king of Israel (874-853 BC), married Baal-worshipping Jezebel (1 Kgs 16:31) …Bird Ecology Study Group Painted Jezebel: Distasteful to birds?These were the caterpillars of the Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete metarete), an attractive and […] […] Butterflies have a complex life cycle.
And this was exactly what the Painted Jezebel caterpillars did.Some mistletoe plants are reputed to contain narcotic properties that are transferred to the caterpillars that feed on it.
And this was exactly what the Painted Jezebel caterpillars did.
The eggs are laid on the leaves of their food plants.
After all, caterpillars are a favourite food of birds.Yet, of the 21 caterpillars that hatched out from the clutch of eggs, 19 survived to pupate.
It was a sight to see them all moving about for hours on end. With further twisting of the lower end, the emerging pupa eventually pushed the discarded skin off the leaf (above shows the head capsule still attached to the leaf). As growth progresses, there will be a few holes present in the leaf, near the site of oviposition. The anal end anchored the caterpillar to the leaf while a silken girdle around the middle stabilised the upper part (above). 1st instar caterpillar of the Painted Jezebel… Of the eight or more caterpillars of the Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete metarete) feeding on the leaves of the Malayan Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe pentandra), I managed to retrieve only one pupa.
Were the branch still attached to the plant, these caterpillars would have moved a long distance away, each in a different direction to pupate. They moved rapidly up and down the branches. The change from caterpillar to pupa occurred more or less one after another within a period of less than an hour.
Of these, two were found under the table. And incidentally, these butterflies feed on the Pink Mempat (Cratoxylon […] […] out the development of these eggs HERE.
And they would have made hefty meals to any birds that fly past.
Nowhere to hide, they grouped all along a single bare twig, conspicuous in their gaudy orange (below middle).The caterpillars were then large, fat and succulent. As is usual with these caterpillars, they move in different direction to pupate.
Due to this habit apparently, it has evolved a dull upperside and a brilliant underside so that birds below it recognise it immediately while in flight and at rest. It also takes insects like...Michael Ho a.k.a. And their size finally increased to about 25 mm (left). plastic containers, allowed it to cool, then placed small pieces of the sheets containing caterpillars eggs on top of the food. The V-shaped split can clearly be seen in the video above. The wriggling movement caused the outer skin to slowly split downwards. Unable to move further, they turned back and moved downwards. Bees Kill A Giant Hornet With Heat | Buddha Bees and The Giant Hornet Queen | BBC Earth - Duration: 5:25. wmw998 photographed a Blue-winged Minla (Minla cyanouroptera) catching and...“After two days of almost non-stop rain, it was a joy to be able to...Jeffery K. Chan documented a series of images showing a female Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis)...Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis) eats a broad range of fruits.
The newly emerged pupa continued to wriggle about for some time before settling down – see video below.The next phase of the Painted Jezebel’s life cycle begins with the pupa preparing for eclosion.“Saw four of these delightful Fire-breasted (Buff-bellied) Flowerpecker (Dicaeum ignipectus dolichorhynchum) feeding on one of...“On a scorching Saturday afternoon of 15th March 2014, I was monitoring a small colony...Jeremiah Loei has succeeded in documenting this elusive female von Schrenck’s Bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus) foraging...On the morning of 21st October 2015, Dr V. H. Lee came across an intricate...Jeremiah Loei’s video clip shows a Lesser Coucal (Centropus bengalensis) perching on a branch among...“Just back from a fruitful birding trip in Myanmar.