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Project Noah Nature School
Idea sp.
May be 4-5 cm long. Black with black spikes and yellow stripes. With two red markings.
Hi EarlyStages:
One possibility is that these butterflies have been imported. I did not see them in the wild but in a butterfly garden sanctuary. May be they not only raise philipppines species but also a variety of asian species.
A second possibility is that I am wrong with the ID which would not surprise me since I am not an expert. When I see caterpillars of Idea leuconoe in the internet they don´t look exactly like the ones in my pics but on the other hand these were the butterflies at the moment most present in the garden, so it might as well be.
As both the common and Latin names imply and NoSutt's reference states, Idea malabarica is found (only) in southern India – "oceans" away from the Philippines. Several months ago I would have confidently identified this caterpillar as an unusual yellow variation of a dark-form I. hypermnestra . . .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrclean/300...
. . . however, it is now clear that our scientific understanding of I. leuconoe larvae is very incomplete. See also:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/123... (central Luzon)
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/123... (northern Luzon)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35366458@N0... (northern Luzon)
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/694... (Bohol)
Thank you for an intriguing yet frustrating photo, Marta!
I am trying to find the species name. Are there any Philippines out there that can help me? :-)
Spotted on Oct 10, 2012
Submitted on Dec 27, 2012
