Doleschallia bisaltide australis (Autumn Leaf)

I like how my garden is fast becoming a haven for butterflies and their young. And the best part is, it's a different caterpillar each time.

This little gem of a caterpillar is the Doleschallia bisaltide australis (Autumn Leaf). It is a Nymphalid butterfly found mainly in India and also in Australia where it is known as Leafwing. It is not endemic to Singapore, but it is believed that the growing population we see here could have been the result of escapees from butterfly parks.

The host plants for these caterpillars are mainly the Asystasia gangetica (Common Asystasia, Coromandel) and the Graptophyllum pictum (Caricature plant). The former is a wild weed commonly found growing in wastelands or along footpaths.

The genus Doleschallia comprises about 8 described species, although the status of some of these is questionable, some authors considering that at least 4 of them are just subspecies of bisaltide.

Both sexes are very similar, and on the upperside are orange-brown, except for the subapical area which is blackish.

This species breeds in primary and secondary rainforest at altitudes between sea level and about 1400m.

The fully grown caterpillar is black, adorned with short shiny bluish-green whorled spines. It has a series of broken, broad white stripes along the back, and a pair of thin broken off-white lines below the spiracles. The abdominal segments each carry a large red tubercle below each spiracle. The head is steely blue. It feeds gregariously on plants including Artocarpus ( jack fruit ), Pseuderanthemum, Calycanthus, and Graptophyllum ( Acanthaceae ).

The caterpillars are parasitised by Chalcid wasps, which emerge after the larvae has pupated.

The butterflies have a strong, direct and very rapid flight. They are usually encountered singly along forest roads, small clearings, orang-asli villages, and small quarries within forested areas.

Males imbibe moisture from damp sand and rocks on riverbanks and roadsides. If disturbed they fly up rapidly but re-settle nearby on walls or tree trunks, assuming a downward-facing posture, with wings closed.

yellow-hair caterpillar

I chanced upon yet another caterpillar which looked just like the earlier one I found (pictured below). The main difference is the colour of the hairs. I still do not know what species this is and my search on the internet has yielded nothing so far. But i'll continue to look and in the meantime, would appreciate any tips from avid caterpillar gurus.

hairy caterpillar

I found this fella chewing on my Costus varzearum one early morning. I've not managed to identify the species but i'm sure it would morph into something quite spectacular.

caterpillar

I found another guest in the garden, this time munching on the tender leaves of a young costus guanaiensis var tarmicus shoot. I find caterpillars fascinating because they all so different and they come in a myriad range of colours and sizes. I don't know whether this will end up as a butterfly or a moth (most people think the former) but i'm sure it would be one beautiful specimen. The thing about caterpillars is, never try to touch them with your bare hands, particularly the hairy ones because they will cause an allergic reaction which could end up in a major rash.

common rose butterfly

One early morning, I chanced upon these little black caterpillars munching on the leaves of my Aristolochia grandiflora (Dutchman's Pipe). As the cats were particularly striking, I refrained from whipping out my sears and insect repellants. A few days later, the cats got bigger and bigger and eventually, they started to form a chrysalis. At the time, I still did not know what sort of butterfly it would become and in any case, my knowledge of butterflies in general is very limited. About a week later, one of the butterflies emerged from its pupa and it was simply beautiful. I looked up the internet immediately in a bid to identify it but before I found a match, a friend of mine who saw the photos I posted on facebook commented that this was the Common Rose butterfly. I looked it up on the internet and viola! He was right!

The Common Rose (Atrophaneura (Pachliopta) aristolochiae) is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the Pachliopta subgenus, the Roses, of the genus Atrophaneura or Red-bodied Swallowtails. It is a common butterfly which is extensively distributed across South and South East Asia. That said, it is not that common in Singapore because it feeds mostly on Aristolochia and we do not have a lot of them growing in Singapore, and certainly not in the wild. I'm still amazed how it managed to track down the plant at my place.