The Great Egg-fly (male)

Description:

These butterflies looked dark brownish/black, but when the light caught them in a certain way it lit up irridescent blue spots on the upper wing. The Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina), also called the Blue Moon Butterfly in New Zealand or Common Eggfly, is a species of nymphalid butterfly. H. bolina is a black-bodied butterfly with a wingspan of about 70–85 millimetres (2.8–3.3 in). The species has a high degree of sexual dimorphism. The female is mimetic with multiple morphs. Male The upper side of the wings are jet black, offset with three pairs of white spots &two on the forewing and one on the hind. These white spots are surrounded by purple iridescence. In addition, the upper side of the hind wing bears a series of small white dots. Female The upper side of the wings of the female is a brownish black and does not have any spots like those of the male. The edges bear white markings which are similar to those of the Common Indian Crow. On the Samoan Islands of Upolu and Savai'i, a parasite (probably Wolbachia) had been killing the male members of Hypolimnas bolina. The problem was so severe that by the year 2001, males made up only 1% of the population. However, in 2007, it was reported that within a span of just 10 generations (less than a year), the males had evolved to develop immunity to the parasite, and the male population increased to nearly 40%.

Habitat:

H. bolina is a fairly common butterfly found in lightly wooded country, deciduous forests, thick and moist scrub and the greener parts of human habitation. H. bolina is found in Madagascar in the west, through to South and Southeast Asia, South Pacific islands (French Polynesia, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu), and occurs in parts of Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.

Notes:

# 4 is in the shade # 5 is in full sun hence the colour difference. Inn reality they were quite dark! In the last 3 photos it was sipping the sweat drops from my arm! NOTE: May have both male and female here... It seems the more browny coloured one (last 2 photos) is the female, and the male had the blue spots.