Danaus genutia

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Common tiger
Upperside
Male, underside
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus:
Danaus
Species:
D. genutia
Binomial name
Danaus genutia
(Cramer, [1779])
Synonyms
  • Papilio genutia Cramer, [1779]
  • Danaus adnana Swinhoe, 1917
  • Danaus plexippus plexippus f. albipars Talbot, 1943
  • Danaus bandjira Martin, 1911
  • Danaus bimana Martin, 1911
  • Danaida plexippus plexippus f. grynion Fruhstorfer, 1907
  • Danaus nipalensis Moore, 1877
  • Danaus sumbana Talbot, 1943
  • Danaus tuak Pryer & Cator, 1894
  • Danaus uniens Martin, 1911
  • Salatura intermedia Moore, 1883
  • Salatura intensa Moore, 1883
  • Salatura laratensis Butler, 1883
  • Danaida alexis Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914

Danaus genutia, the common tiger,

butterflies of India. It belongs to the "crows and tigers", that is, the Danainae group of the brush-footed butterflies family. The butterfly is also called striped tiger in India to differentiate it from the equally common plain tiger, Danaus chrysippus.[3] The species was first described by Pieter Cramer
in 1779.

Description

The butterfly closely resembles the monarch butterfly (

white tiger (D. melanippus).[6]

Distribution and ecology

D. genutia is distributed throughout India,

South-East Asia and Australia (except New Guinea).[2][3] At least in the South Asian part of its range it is fairly common, locally very common.[6]

This butterfly occurs in scrub jungles, fallowland adjacent to habitation, dry and moist deciduous forests, preferring areas of moderate to heavy rainfall. Also occurs in degraded hill slopes and ridges, both, bare or denuded, and, those covered with secondary growth.[3]

While it is a strong flier, it never flies rapidly or high. It has stronger and faster strokes than the plain tiger. The butterfly ranges forth in search of its host and nectar plants. It visits gardens where it nectars on the flowers of Adelocaryum, Cosmos, Celosia, Lantana, Zinnia, and similar flowers.[3]

Defence against predators, mimicry

Members of this genus are leathery, tough to kill and fake death. Since they are unpleasant to smell and taste, they are soon released by the predators, recover and fly off soon thereafter. The butterfly sequesters toxins from plants of the family

Cethosia nietneri mahratta) and the leopard lacewing (Cethosia cyane) and females of the common palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra).[8]

Life history

This butterfly lays its egg singly under the leaves of any of its host plants of family

chrysalis (pupa) is green and marked with golden-yellow spots.[3]

The caterpillar of the common tiger butterfly obtains a supply of poison by eating poisonous plants, which make the caterpillar and butterfly a distasteful morsel for predators. The most common food plants of the common tiger in peninsular India are small herbs, twiners and creepers from the family

Asclepiadaceae
, including:

Subspecies

It has some 16

Malay tiger (D. affinis) and white tiger.[10]

  • D. g. genutia (India to China, Sri Lanka, Andamans, Nicobars, Peninsular Malaya, Thailand, Langkawi, Singapore, Indochina, Taiwan, Hainan)
  • D. g. sumatrana Moore, 1883 (western and north-eastern Sumatra)
  • D. g. intermedia (Moore, 1883)
  • D. g. conspicua Butler, 1866 (southern Sulawesi)
  • D. g. niasicus Fruhstorfer, 1899 (Nias)
  • D. g. intensa (Moore, 1883) (Java, Bali, Bawean, Borneo)
  • D. g. partita (Fruhstorfer, 1897) (Lesser Sunda)
  • D. g. leucoglene C. & R. Felder, 1865 (northern Sulawesi)
  • D. g. tychius Fruhstorfer, 1910 (Selajar)
  • D. g. telmissus Fruhstorfer, 1910 (Butong Island)
  • D. g. wetterensis (Fruhstorfer, 1899) (Wetar Island, Timor)
  • D. g. laratensis (Butler, 1883) (Tanimbar Island)
  • D. g. kyllene Fruhstorfer, 1910 (Damar Island, Kai Island)
  • D. g. alexis (Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914) (Northern Territory to north-western Australia)

See also

References

  • Bhuyan, M.; Deka, M.; Kataki, D. & Bhattacharyya, P. R. (2005). Nectar host plant selection and floral probing by the Indian butterfly Danaus genutia (Nymphalidae). Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 38: 79–84. PDF fulltext
  • Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society..
  • Kunte, Krushnamegh (2000). Butterflies of Peninsular India. India, A Lifescape. Hyderabad, India: Universities Press.
    ISBN 978-8173713545
    .
  • Smith, David A. S.; Lushai, Gugs & Allen, John A. (2005). A classification of Danaus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based upon data from morphology and DNA.
    doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00169.x
    (HTML abstract)
  • ISBN 978-8170192329
    .

Footnotes

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9
    .
  2. ^ a b Savela, Markku. "Danaus genutia (Cramer, [1779])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kunte (2000): 45, pp. 148–149.
  4. ^ Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Bingham, Charles Thomas (1907). Fauna of British India. Butterflies Vol. 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 10–11.
  5. ^ Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Moore, Frederic (1890–1892). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. I. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 45–48.
  6. ^ a b c Wynter-Blyth (1957): p. 69.
  7. ^ Bhuyan et al. (2005)
  8. ^ Wynter-Blyth (1957): p. 56.
  9. ^ a b c d Wynter-Blyth (1957): p. 493.
  10. ^ Smith et al. (2005)

External links

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