This week's butterfly is another rare and obscure species, Meyer's Jay (or Meyer's Triangle), Graphium meyeri. It is found on Sulawesi and Sula islands. It's not as rare or as obscure as Graphium mendana but there's still room for some student to become famous by filling in the gaps in what we know about this species, too. For example, we don't know that it's endangered, but neither do we know that it's not. Without knowing whether its populations are stable or declining, people can't protect it by law--and just might drive it into an unnecessary decline, or even into extinction.
Photo by Mangge_totok. We do know that this is not a picture of a mother butterfly and her young, because only adult butterflies have wings. And usually the butterflies who hang out for extended periods of time at shallow puddles, often preferring polluted water to clean water, are male. In many species that are primarily pollinators, males have to do some composting to build up levels of minerals sufficient to allow them to reproduce. Females seldom drink mineral-rich water, preferring to get their minerals from their mates, but do sometimes approach males at puddles, checking whether any of the little goofballs (female Swallowtails tend to be larger than males) is ready to mate yet. (Female butterflies aren't usually shy about notifying males that they're ready to unload some eggs.)
Photo by Gancw1. So, are these two male drinking buddies, or is the very slightly larger, less colorful one female? Is it possible to tell by lookng? Someone needs to learn the answers to this kind of questions.
Though tailless, Graphium mendana has a general attitude that can remind Americans of our Zebra Swallowtails when we look at the under sides of their wings. The upper sides look different...
Photo by Kaithefishguy.
Photo by Rolandgodon. What about the color variation? Is it only the light that makes this individual's pale spots iridesce yellow and white rather than blue and white, or does the color communicate something to other butterflies about the individual's age, sex, or condition? We know this butterfly has lived long enough to survive some dangers, because its wings are damaged. Does its color reflect the extent of damage?
Photo by Erlandreflingnielsen. We know that Graphium meyeri don't avoid their own kind. When their food plants are rare, butterflies like to be the only one of their sex and species near a group of food plants; when their food plants are abundant, they're more likely to tolerate each other's company, and males may hang out together at puddles, seeking safety in numbers. In either case, male Swallowtails tend to tolerate the company of other kinds of butterflies. Large mixed flocks may include only smaller butterflies or, no doubt less often, only different members of the Swallowtail family. We don't know what this mix of species portends for each or all of the Swallowtail species here, because we don't know what the caterpillars eat.
Photo by Zicky. Rothschild observed that Graphium meyeri and Graphium eurypylus "fly together and are common," at least in the right time and place, but don't seem to crossbreed--evidence that they are distinct species, not subspecies.
There are two recognized subspecies of meyeri, Graphium meyeri meyeri and G.m.extremum, but their differences have not been documented online. Extremum is found on Sula island.
We do know (some of) the plants Graphium meyeri pollinate:
Graphium meyeri usually have a wingspan over three inches but not quite four, with females averaging larger than males. Males and females look similar but females' black color is more likely to fade to brown. Nothing has been documented about the early stages of these butterflies' lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment