Mycalesis terminus

Mycalesis terminus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Mycalesis
Species:	M. terminus
Binomial name
Mycalesis terminus (Fabricius, 1775)[1]
Synonyms
Papilio terminus Fabricius, 1775 Mycalesis tira Gaede, 1931 Papilio remulia Cramer, [1779] Mycalesis terminus kyllenion Fruhstorfer, 1908 Mycalesis matho Grose-Smith, 1894

Mycalesis terminus, the orange bushbrown, is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It is found in Indonesia (Irian Jaya, Maluku), New Guinea and Australia (Queensland).^[2]

The wingspan is about 40 mm. Adults are dark brown with a large orange patch on each forewing and an eyespot on each forewing and three on each hindwing. They suck the juice of rotting fruit but have also been recorded feeding on dew and sap.^[3]

The larvae feed on various Poaceae species, including Themeda triandra, Panicum maximum, Imperata cylindrica and Oplismenus species. Young larvae feed on the leaftips of their host plant. They are brown with a faint dark dorsal line and obscure diagonal markings. Full-grown larvae reach a length of about 30 mm.

Subspecies

• Mycalesis terminus terminus (Cape York to Yeppoon)
• Mycalesis terminus remulia (Cramer, [1779]) (Ambon, Serang, Obi)
• Mycalesis terminus wakolo Fruhstorfer, 1908 (Buru)
• Mycalesis terminus pseudasophis Fruhstorfer, 1908 (Bachan)
• Mycalesis terminus anteros Fruhstorfer, 1908 (Halmahera)
• Mycalesis terminus ternatensis Fruhstorfer, 1908 (Ternate)
• Mycalesis terminus atropates Fruhstorfer, 1908 (West Irian: Dore Bay)
• Mycalesis terminus terminulus Fruhstorfer, 1908 (Waigeu)
• Mycalesis terminus flagrans Butler, 1876 (Papua New Guinea)
• Mycalesis terminus matho Grose-Smith, 1894 (Bismarck Archipelago)

References