Euploea sylvester, the double-branded crow, also known as the two-brand crow in Australia, is a butterfly found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of Australia that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.
Several races of the butterfly are recognized. Race pelor is found in Australia.Meyer, C.E. (1997) Notes on the life history and variation in adult forms of Euploea sylvester pelor Doubleday (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae), The Australian Entomologist. 24(2):73-77.
Subspecies The subspecies of Euploea sylvester are: E. s. coreta (Godart, 1819) - India (South), Sri Lanka E. s. harrisii C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865 - Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia (Peninsula), Singapore. [Myanmar?] E. s. hopei (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865) - India (Sikkim, Assam) Myanmar, [Doubtful: Indo-China?, Peninsular Malaya?] E. s. pelor Doubleday, 1847 - Australia (Northern Territory, Western [Northwest]) E. s. swinhoei Wallace, 1866 - Taiwan E. s. sylvester (Fabricius, 1793) - Australia (Queensland) "Cape York - Rockhampton, Torres Strait Islands".
Description
In shape, colour, and markings, it very closely resembles Euploea core. Males, however, can be distinguished at once by the presence of two brands instead of a single one on the forewing. Of the females Lionel de Nicéville says, females of E. coreta can be separated from the females of E. core by the following points: "First by the outline of the forewing being more entire; in core it is slightly but perceptibly scalloped- Second, by the underside of the forewing having a complete series of six spots, one between each pair of nervules outside the cell; in core two of these spots, those above the discoidal nervules (veins 5 and 6), are always wanting. Third, the two brands on the interno-median area (interspace 1) of the forewing in the male are faintly but quite perceptibly to be traced in the female in the same position."
Larval food plants The double-banded crow feeds on plants of the families Apocynaceae (dogbanes and oleanders) including Parsonsia, Hoya, and Cynanchum,Vane-Wright, R.I, & de Jong, R. (2003). The butterflies of Sulawesi: annotated checklist for a critical island fauna. Zoologische Verhandelingen, 343, 3–267 https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/220217/ Asclepiadaceae (milkweeds) including MarsdeniaVane-Wright, R.I, & de Jong, R. (2003). The butterflies of Sulawesi: annotated checklist for a critical island fauna. Zoologische Verhandelingen, 343, 3–267 https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/220217/ and Moraceae (figs) including Ficus obliqua, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus racemosa, Gymnema sylvestre and Ichnocarpus frutescens HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/hostplants/) accessed on September 12, 2007.
Gallery
See also Danainae Nymphalidae List of butterflies of India List of butterflies of India (Nymphalidae)
References
External links
Sri Lanka Wild Life Information Database