| Double-branded Crow | |
|---|---|
| Double-branded crow Euploea sylvester | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Euploea |
| Species: | E. sylvester |
| Binomial name | |
| Euploea sylvester (Fabricius, 1793) |
|
The Double-branded Crow (Euploea sylvester), 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.[1]
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In shape, colour, and markings, 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 fore wing. 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 fore wing being more entire ; in core it is slightly but perceptibly scalloped- Second, by the underside of the fore wing 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 fore wing in the male are faintly but quite perceptibly to be traced in the female in the same position."[2]
The Double Banded Crow feeds on plants of the families Apocynaceae (Dogbanes and Oleanders), Asclepiadaceae (Milkweeds) and Moraceae (Figs)and the specific species are Ficus obliqua, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus racemosa, Gymnema sylvestre and Ichnocarpus frutescens [3]