Blue Nawab 141110

Polyura schreiber tisamenus

Details
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Charaxinae
Genus: Polyura
Species: schreiber tisamenus
Common Name: Blue Nawab
Status in Singapore:
Life History: complete
This butterfly can be found in: •Singapore
Hostplant(s): Adenanthera pavonina (Red Saga) Chorisia speciosa (Silk Floss Tree) Nephelium lappaceum (Rambutan)

Description
The silvery undersides is marked with brown and purple patterns. The upperside has a white median band ornamented with blue. It possesses a pair of tails on the hindwings. The female of the species is usually larger with broader and longer tails.

Habitat & Habits
The Blue Nawab is very much the rarer of the two Polyura species found in Singapore. It is a strong flyer like Polyura hebe plautus and prefers to remain at high levels.

The species has been observed in the vicinity of mangrove areas near Sg Buloh Nature Reserve, and on Singapore's offshore islands of Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong.

Other Observations
To be detailed.

Early Stages
The caterpillar of this species is dark green with four spiny horns on the head and has a broad orange-yellow band on the 3rd abdominal segment. The host plant has been recorded as Nephelium lappaceum (Rambutan). However, we have found it on Adenanthera pavonina (Red Saga) where it was feeding on the leaves with other caterpillars of Polyura hebe plautus. The caterpillar weaved a silken pad on the Adenanthera leaves where it used as a "base camp" from which it makes forays to other parts of the plant to eat (usually at night), then returning without fail, to its "base camp" to rest during the day. The caterpillars were bred to adulthood, proving that the species also feeds on Adenanthera.