Final Golden Days. Siproeta stelenes, Malachite Butterfly, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The lifespan (from egg and caterpillar to pupa/chrysalis and imago) of Malachite Butterflies can be up to several months of which the last fortnight or so yields those beautiful gliders. So, as in the photo our Beauty emerges from its chrysalis it hasn't long anymore to live. Note the sharp golden spikes on the now empty cover. They've kept predators at bay for the duration of that stage.
Earlier I was at a loss as to the derivation of the scientific Latin name (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/29857193144/in/photoli...). My earlier conjecture (though inventive, I might say...) was wrong, I now thinkš®. Rather 'Siproeta' seems to be derived from a lesser Greek hero of Antiquity, one Siproites. He was once a hunter who in the woods espied the naked goddess Artemis taking a bath. As punishment he was turned into a woman. Great Carolus Linnaeus and those after him generally used the names of Greek mythological heroes and heroines to designate Butterfly species.
Final Golden Days. Siproeta stelenes, Malachite Butterfly, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The lifespan (from egg and caterpillar to pupa/chrysalis and imago) of Malachite Butterflies can be up to several months of which the last fortnight or so yields those beautiful gliders. So, as in the photo our Beauty emerges from its chrysalis it hasn't long anymore to live. Note the sharp golden spikes on the now empty cover. They've kept predators at bay for the duration of that stage.
Earlier I was at a loss as to the derivation of the scientific Latin name (www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/29857193144/in/photoli...). My earlier conjecture (though inventive, I might say...) was wrong, I now thinkš®. Rather 'Siproeta' seems to be derived from a lesser Greek hero of Antiquity, one Siproites. He was once a hunter who in the woods espied the naked goddess Artemis taking a bath. As punishment he was turned into a woman. Great Carolus Linnaeus and those after him generally used the names of Greek mythological heroes and heroines to designate Butterfly species.