Calinaga buphonas Oberthür, 1920

Zhang, Xin & Hu, Shao-ji, 2012, The Immature Stage Of Calinaga Buphonas Oberthür, 1920 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Far Eastern Entomologist 239, pp. 10-12 : 10-12

Calinaga buphonas Oberthür, 1920

Figs 1, 3–13

EGG. Hemispherical, 0.8–1.0 mm in diameter and 0.3–0.5 mm in height, creamy white and covered with 32 longitudinal striae ( Fig. 3 ). Singly laid on the underside of host leaves and hatched in the morning. Duration of egg was 6–7 days.

LARVAE. The 1st instar larvae 2–3 mm in length; with blackish brown head; whitish translucent body, and two rows of symmetrical fine, short setae on the dorsum, and a row of fine, short setae on each side of body ( Figs. 4–5 ). The newly hatched larvae ingested egg shells before ingesting the margin portion of tender leaves. Duration of the 1st instar larva 5– 6 days. The 2nd instar larvae are 10–12 mm in length; head as above but with a pair of clubshaped horns covered with long black setae; body yellowish green with irregular tubercles, translucent setae and bifurcated pygidium ( Fig. 6 ). Duration of the 2nd instar larva 8–9 days The 3rd instar larvae 15–18 mm in length; head dark red with black ocelli and horns, body bright green with well-developed, yellowish green tubercles, stigma black, except those in segment 2 and 3 ( Fig. 7 ) which are yellowish green. Duration of the 3rd instar larva 15–17 days. The 4th instar larvae 38–45 mm in length, head as in the 3rd instar, the body densely covered with yellow and white tubercles with a milky yellow ventral side

( Fig. 8 ). Duration of the 4th instar larva 10–13 days. The 5th (final) instar larvae 48–55 mm in length and resemble the forth instar, but with ocelli encircled by translucent whitish tubercles, and an emerald green body before pupation ( Figs. 9–11 ). Duration of the 5th instar larva 23–25 days.

PUPA. Adheraena; fruit-shaped and smooth; 11–15 mm in length, 8–12 mm in width; fruit green (green form) or yellowish brown (brown form) with irregular dark markings and dark red stigma ( Figs. 12–13 ). Duration of the pupa 280–283 days.

LARVAL BEHAVIOR. Larvae lived solitarily, and from the 2nd instar on, they expelled each other by waving their horns when they encountered a conspecific. The 3rd instar larvae began to build “nests” by rolling the margin of host leaves. The final instar larvae pupated under leaves of on branches in the morning. The acceptance of a closely related plant, M. alba , was tested on both laboratory-reared larvae and wild-caught larvae. Acceptance was 0% in both cases.

VOLTINIS. C. buphonas is univoltine in Central-Yunnan altiplano according to field observation and raring experiment. The voltinism in elsewhere of its distribution has not been studied.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to Ms. Sophie Miller for improving the earlier drafts of this paper.

REFERENCES

Chou, I. 1994. Monographia Rhopalocerorum Sinensium ( Revised Edition). Zhengzhou: Henan Science & Technology Publishing House.

Chou, I. 1998. Classification and Identification of Chinese Butterflies. Zhengzhou: Henan Science & Technology Publishing House.

Huang, H. 2003. A list of butterflies collected from Nujiang (Lou Tse Kiang) and Dulongjiang, China with descriptions of new species, new subspecies, and revisional notes (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera). Neue Entomologische Nachrichten, 55: 3–114.

Lee, C. L. 1995. Yunnan Butterflies. Beijing: China Forestry Press.

Oberthür, C. 1920. Etudes de Lépidoptèrologie Comparée. 17: 14–19, pls. 512-516.

Okano, M. & Okano, T. 1984. A new subspecies of Calinaga buddha from Yunnan, China. Artes Liberales, 34: 119–120, pl. 1.

Wang, Z.G. 2005. Catalogus Rhopalocerorum Sinensium (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera). Henan Science, 23 (Suppl.): 1–111.

Figures

Figs 1–13. The adult, natural host plant, and immature stage of Calinaga buphonas: 1 – male adult, upperside on the left half and underside on the right half; 2 – natural host plant, Morus australis; 3 – egg; 4 – 1st instar larva ingesting the egg shell; 5 – 1st instar larva after ingesting host leaf; 6 – 2nd instar larva; 7 – 3rd instar larva; 8 – 4th instar larva; 9 – 5th (final) instar larva; 10 – final instar larva before pupation; 11 – prepupation; 12 – pupa (green form); 13 – pupa (brown form).