Mycalesis anapita explained

Mycalesis anapita, the tawny bush-brown, is a species of Satyrinae butterfly described by Frederic Moore in 1858. It is found in southern Burma, southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo.^[1]

Description

The underside of the moth is orange brown in color. The edges of the forewing and hindwing display rusty-brown lines with about 11 eyespots along the wing margins.^[1] The upperside from the apex to the tornus displays deep orange brown with black forewing border.^[1]

Ecology

Mycalesis anapita is known as an open grassland species that prefers well-lit areas dominated with Poaceae species.^[2] It is commonly found low to the ground, in disturbed habitats such as Acacia manfium and palm oil plantations.^{[3] [4]}

The larval host plant for Mycalesis anapita caterpillars are from the family Gramineae.^[5] This species is also commonly found along service roads neighbouring primary rainforest, due to the abundance of larval host plants invading, which is also known as a disturbance corridor.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Kirton, L. 2001, A Naturalists Guide To The Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand, United Selangor Press Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur
2. Hamer, K, Hills, J, Benedick, S, Mustaffa, N, Sherratt, T, Maryati, M & Chey, K 2003, "Ecology of butterflies in natural and selectively logged forests of northern Borneo: the importance of habitat heterogeneity", Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 40, pp. 150-162
3. Scriven, S, Beale, C, Benedick, S & Hill, J 2017, "Barriers to dispersal of rain forest butterflies in tropical agricultural landscapes", Biotropica: The Journal of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, vol.49, no. 2, pp. 206-216
4. Lucey, J & Hill, J 2012, "Spillover of Insects from Rain Forest into Adjacent Oil Palm Plantations", Biotropica, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 368-377
5. Robinson, G, Ackery, P, Kitching, I, Beccaloni, G, Hernandez, L 2001, Hostplants of the moth and butterfly caterpillars of the Oriental Region, The Natural History Museum, London & Southdene SDN BHD, Kuala Lumpur.
6. Dumbrell, A & Hill, J 2005, "Impacts of selective logging on canopy and ground assemblages of tropical forest butterflies: Implications for sampling", Biological Conservation, vol. 125, no.1, pp. 123-131