The Tawny Coaster

The Tawny Coaster, Acraea terpsicore syn. Acraea violae

As if to herald the festive season and it's accompanying monsoons, the Tawny Coaster has made it's presence felt around my neighborhood. These delicate beauties are worth celebration too as they have traveled from a land far far away - Thailand. (And that's really far for a creature small enough to sit so comfortably on my fingertip!) Spotted in Malaysia in the early 90s, these guys have recently touchdown and settled in Singapore.

The small flowers of the common weed, Passiflora suberosa.

Foreign introductions to ecosystems have been known to spell disaster but I doubt that this will be the case for the Tawny Coaster. Although it is unpalatable to most predators, the caterpillars have specific host plants, which is commonly the case for butterflies and moths, and this must have prevented an population explosion as it was spreading Southward. The favoured baby food appears to be the non-native and pesky weed, Passiflora suberosa. The plant is more annoying than a real menace but in any case this unruly wild passionfruit has met it's match!

Be warned!
Baby butterflies can be scary to the faint of heart and prepubescent Tawny Coasters do not look friendly at all...Stages of metamorphosis. Pupation started: 30th Nov. Adult emerged: 8th Dec. Total 8 days :)

I have found that adult Tawny Coasters, like many butterflies of the open fields, are partial to the nectar of the tridax daisy. The insect sports a fluttery, weak flight that is characteristic of butterflies that are poisonous to eat. As they possess chemical defenses inherited from their caterpillar food plants, the butterflies are not easily startled even on close inspection (confident little buggers!) and are easy to photograph.

So if you chance across one of these fancy fliers on a sunny field, do stop to appreciate their ephemeral beauty. They are 'foreign talent', you know!