Wildlife Photography: Autumn Leaf (Doleschalia bisaltide)


The Autumn Leaf is a recent discovery here in Singapore.  The original subspecies, Doleschallia bisaltide pratipa, was recorded by the early authors, but was not seen in Singapore since the beginning of the 20th century and believed to have gone extinct.  The recent discovery of the Autumn Leaf appears to be the subspecies australis which hails from Indonesia and Australia.  The characteristic subapical white spots are usually not present (at least not all the 5 spots) in the subspecies pratipa and siamensis, both found in Malaysia.  This discovery is therefore not likely to have come down from the north. This subspecies was discovered within the nature reserves and appear to be colonising more areas and is becoming more frequently encountered.  Eggs and caterpillars have been found on the Common Asystasia (Asystasia gangetica) and bred to adulthood.   A hypothesis is that the species could have escaped from the Butterfly Park and managed to breed on the very commonly found host plant which is found all over the island as a wild weed.  However this theory is only speculative and without hard evidence.  Nevertheless, Singapore is now endowed with another resident species, which is hopefully here to stay! ~ butterflycircle.com

17 comments:

  1. Beautiful photo! And thanks for giving us some history of the Autumn Leaf... I hope they are there to stay as well! Always exciting to see a species make a comeback!

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  2. Wow, it's beautiful and so delicate!

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  3. This is a beautiful shot. Thank you for explaining the history and explanation of this lovely creature. B

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  4. You captured some fantastic detail on the butterfly's wings AND the flower. Impressive!

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  5. What an interesting butterfly and I appreciate the interesting information about it. Lovely photo. :)

    Thanks so much for sharing your photo with us at YSB. I truly appreciate it!

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  6. terrific shot!! love the angle of the butterfly!

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  7. very beautiful shot, it seems you are really enjoying the world around you Che, you have loads and tons of wonderful pictures.

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  8. The detail captured in Autumn Leaf is great. So pretty.

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  9. I like how you have broken the rules and placed the butterfly in the centre of this shot. The colours are beautiful

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  10. The butterfly is amazing. The Autumn Leaf is a vivid backdrop for it. I feel like I could reach out and pick a tiny bouquet or set up an easel and paint.

    New GFC follower. I hope to visit Singapore some day -- maybe I'll see this beauty in "real life."

    May your week be one of joy and fun surprises!
    Pamela

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  11. Wonderful and lovely photo!

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  12. What a wonderful composition - just right!

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