Male blue moon butterfly
This photo was taken in the butterfly house at Jimmy's Farm at Wherstead, Suffolk.
Hypolimnas bolina, the great eggfly, common eggfly, varied eggfly or in New Zealand the blue moon butterfly is found in Madagascar in the west, through to South and Southeast Asia, Cambodia, the South Pacific islands (French Polynesia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa and Vanuatu), and occurs in parts of Australia as far south as Victoria during summer and autumn, Japan, and New Zealand. Appearances in New Zealand appear to be linked with favourable winds during April to June migratory periods in Australia, with the butterfly being recorded in 1956, 1971 and 1995. No populations have established locally in New Zealand.
The blue moon is a generally common butterfly across most tropical and sub-tropical habitat types, including wet and dry woodland, such as tropical savanna, rainforest and shrubland. It is a common visitor to suburban gardens. In the Australian tropics, the butterfly is particularly common along tracks, streambeds and the corridors formed between cultivated sugar cane fields.
The wingspan is of about 2.8 to3.3 in. (70 to 85 mm). The dorsal wing surface is jet black but features three prominent spots, two on the forewing and one on the hindwing. These appear as white spots fringed with blue-violet, hey actually consist of a white centre overlain by bright ultraviolet iridescence, a colour generated by nanostructures on the wing scale surface. Numerous smaller white spots fringe the fore and hindwings. The ventral surface lacks any ultraviolet iridescence and consists essentially of banded white markings set against a brownish background.
Male blue moon butterfly
This photo was taken in the butterfly house at Jimmy's Farm at Wherstead, Suffolk.
Hypolimnas bolina, the great eggfly, common eggfly, varied eggfly or in New Zealand the blue moon butterfly is found in Madagascar in the west, through to South and Southeast Asia, Cambodia, the South Pacific islands (French Polynesia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa and Vanuatu), and occurs in parts of Australia as far south as Victoria during summer and autumn, Japan, and New Zealand. Appearances in New Zealand appear to be linked with favourable winds during April to June migratory periods in Australia, with the butterfly being recorded in 1956, 1971 and 1995. No populations have established locally in New Zealand.
The blue moon is a generally common butterfly across most tropical and sub-tropical habitat types, including wet and dry woodland, such as tropical savanna, rainforest and shrubland. It is a common visitor to suburban gardens. In the Australian tropics, the butterfly is particularly common along tracks, streambeds and the corridors formed between cultivated sugar cane fields.
The wingspan is of about 2.8 to3.3 in. (70 to 85 mm). The dorsal wing surface is jet black but features three prominent spots, two on the forewing and one on the hindwing. These appear as white spots fringed with blue-violet, hey actually consist of a white centre overlain by bright ultraviolet iridescence, a colour generated by nanostructures on the wing scale surface. Numerous smaller white spots fringe the fore and hindwings. The ventral surface lacks any ultraviolet iridescence and consists essentially of banded white markings set against a brownish background.