Euripus nyctelius nyctelius

Doubleday 1845 - The Courtesan

Koh Samui only.

A fascinating species. The female is polymorphic (has many different forms), of which three named ones have been found on Samui, so far. There are also innumerable intermediate forms which have not been named. The female forms mimic the distasteful Euploea (Crow) species of the family Danainae. Normally, a mimic will live in the same area as the model, but here we have two forms, f. isina and f. euploeoides which mimic Euploea radamanthus, a species not yet found on the Island, though is found just over the water on the mainland, near Donsak, and should be expected to be found here eventually.

This is primarily a species of secondary vegetation. Its hostplant is a very common weed on waste ground, though the butterfly, itself can, at no time, be described as common.

Flight Period

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x

Wingspan

50 - 70mm

Early Stages

Fully known. More detailed life history information is available from the following resources: S. Igarishi - Life Histories of Asian Butterflies, Volume.2 , Page 523.

Larval Foodplant

Trema tormentosa (Ulmaceae)

Range

N. E. India to Thailand. Other species throughout Sundaland and the Philippines.