Common Evening Brown

Description:

Nymphalidae; Satyrinae; Melanitis leda leda Linnaeus 1758. Philippine Lepidoptera describes the Satyrinae as follows: "The SATYRINAE, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They are generally weak fliers and often shun bright sunlight, preferring moist and semishaded habitats. The caterpillars feed chiefly on monocotyledonous plants such as palms, grasses, and bamboos."

Habitat:

I was taking pictures of Common Evening Browns in the rice field, when my wife mentioned that I should get as many pictures as I wanted because the harvesting was scheduled for the next day. There were hundreds of Melanitis leda leda larvae and pupae on the rice leaves and obviously the harvesting would kill them all. I know that this cycle of events has happened countless times ever since humans started farming. But I just felt an overwhelming desire to try and save some of these creatures. So I embarked on my first attempt at captive rearing. I collected some pupae and brought them home , where I put together a makeshift cage and suspended the pupae inside. The results can be seen in my pictures. All of the butterflies eclosed successfully and were released over the next few days.