Great Eggfly

Description:

Nymphalidae; Nymphalinae; Nymphaliini; Hypolimnas bolina philippensis Butler 1874. This butterfly is (according to images displayed in Philippine Lepidoptera) a male. The colours are mainly brown with white markings in both dorsal and ventral views. The dorsal view is relatively straightforward to describe. The main colour is dark brown. There is a large white spot in the discal area of the hindwings and the forewings also have a large irregular white spot in the discal area and a smaller white spot in the apical area. However, this changes depending on your angle of view and the lighting conditions. The entire brown area can become almost black and the white patches become surrounded by iridescent blue bands. The ventral colouring is brown with white markings as in the pictures above and (as far as I know) do not have the complication of iridescence.

Habitat:

This specimen was spotted resting on a Banana Plant (Musa sapientum) at the edge of a rice field. I don't think that there is any special affiliation between this butterfly and the plant. I'm pretty sure it was just having a rest.

Notes:

I should mention that Wikipedia has an excellent article on H. bolina (not H. b. philippensis), but pretty much all of the information provided applies equally to the subspecies "philippensis".