Euploea sylvester, the double-branded crow, also known as the two-brand crow in Australia, is a butterfly found in South Asia,[1] Southeast Asia and parts of Australia that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.[2]
Several races of the butterfly are recognized. Race pelor is found in Australia.[3]
The subspecies of Euploea sylvester are-[2] [1]
In shape, colour, and markings, it 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 forewing. 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 forewing being more entire; in core it is slightly but perceptibly scalloped- Second, by the underside of the forewing 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 forewing in the male are faintly but quite perceptibly to be traced in the female in the same position."
The double-banded crow feeds on plants of the families Apocynaceae (dogbanes and oleanders) including Parsonsia, Hoya, and Cynanchum,[4] Asclepiadaceae (milkweeds) including Marsdenia[5] and Moraceae (figs) including Ficus obliqua, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus racemosa, Gymnema sylvestre and Ichnocarpus frutescens [6]