Tailed Jay Part 2

Description:

Papilionidae; Papilioninae; Leptocircini; Graphium agamemnon agamemnon Linnaeus, 1758. This spotting is the second in a series of three which, if looked at consecutively, tell the story of the amazing metamorphosis which takes place when a Papilionid larva pupates for around 11 days and ecloses as an adult butterfly. Most butterfly larvae, from my own observations, pupate on a twig or branch of their host plant, but for some unknown reason, this one chose to pupate on a leaf. This is, in my personal opinion, a risky strategy. The leaf could fall from the plant and that would be a disaster. The emerging adult, heavy with haemolymph and wings not yet functional would probably not survive, but I will mention more of the problem of the leaf in the third part of this story. As for what is shown here, I was watching attentively as the moment of eclosion approached. I had seen the warning signs, twitching and wriggling, which indicate that it will happen soon. I had missed previous eclosions by not being properly prepared and was determined not to repeat those mistakes. My eyes were fixed on the pupa, but I was still taken by surprise by what I saw. This butterfly suddenly burst out of its pupal case, just like a “jack-in-the-box” and scrambled up to the top of the leaf and that was it. The eclosion, I had been anticipating for eleven days, was over in two or three seconds. I was shocked and drained by what I had just witnessed, but kept on taking photos because I became aware of something else unfolding which I will talk about in the final part of this little trilogy.

Habitat:

The late instar larva of G. a. agamemnon was spotted on a small Citrus sp. sapling in our backyard. This sapling was well enough developed to allow me to snip off the twig, which the larva was on, so that I could take pictures and make observations at any time, without worrying about the frequent downpours we get at this time of year. All I had to do was put the twig in water so that the leaf with the larva would not wilt and fall off. Then I simply trimmed off all the other leaves (as soon as I was sure that the larva had pupated and would not need to eat). This made sure that I had a clearer view for my photos.

Notes:

The other two parts of this spotting are - https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/11... and https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/81... My related spottings of Papilionid metamorphosis are – https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/50... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/36... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/16... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/20... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/16...