A familiar and punctual friend – the Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus).

During my island visit last weekend I encountered a familiar friend the diadem butterfly or Danaid eggfly. During the mid-90s I worked on Cousine Island and recall seeing this beautiful butterfly, the male of which has a very distinctive wing decoration of 3 large clear white spots on a sooty brown background (see photos in sidebar), in successive Aprils. When I subsequently moved to Mahe I was struck by the fact that I again saw the butterfly over several years on successive Aprils.

This seasonal punctuality has continued on Denis I had regular sightings of the species last April flitting rapidly along the woodland fringe at Belle Etoile and then I had the opportunity to photograph a female in the hotel gardens (see sidebar). This last visit to Denis I encountered two separate males exhibiting territorial and display behaviour and was also able to get some good shots of one of them hence enabling this post. The species is dimorphic with the female being a mimic of the plain tiger butterfly (Danaus chrysippus) but also showing variations in form.

Gerlach and Matyot [1] state that the species is seasonal with adults flying from December to April - but they also note that they are most commonly observed in March-April.

H. missipus is a common butterfly with a pan-tropical distribution and polyphagous eating habit. It is known to feed on species of Asystasia, Portulacaceae and Ipomea all of which are common and abundant on Denis and so it seems likely that this beautiful butterfly will grace Denis for many Aprils to come.

[1] Gerlach, J. & Matyot, P. (2006): Lepidoptera of the Seychelles islands. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.