The Large Dart

Potanthus serina

Description

Potanthus serina has an orange-yellow upperwings with black spots on the 6 hind wings, three separate apical spots in spaces 4 and 5. The underside has an orange tinge with patches in spaces 5 and 6 forwards. There is black hair on the back of the head, the antennae are yellow with black stripes, and the legs are yellow.

Larva: larvae of Potanthus serina are cylindrical, yellowish green in color with a body covered with slightly short dorso-lateral setae on the 1st instar. The head capsule is black, the next instar has a whitish color on both sides like the letter Y.

Pupa: Potanthus serina pupae are brownish yellow in color, stomach and chest are rather long, pupae are about 20-22 mm long.

Population Size

-

Life Span

-

WEIGHT​

-

LENGTH

Wingspan from 30 – 34 mm.

Ar

Arboreal

He

Herbivore

Classification

KINGDOM

:

Animalia

PHYLUM

:

Arthropoda

CLASS

:

Insecta

ORDER

:

Lepidoptera

FAMILY

:

Hesperiidae

GENUS

:

Potanthus

SPECIES

:

Potanthus serina

Distribution

Potanthus serina can be found in grassy habitats such as forests, parks and nature reserves. It is also found in mangrove areas.

Geography

Continent : Asia, Australia

Country : Potanthus serina is scattered in the Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Philippines and Singapore.

Habits and Lifestyle

Potanthus serina is a fast flyer, often found in shady areas in the evening, besides being used to sunbathing and visiting flowers and puddles.

Lifestyle

Arboreal

Biome

Tropical rain forest

Climate Zone

Tropical

Diet and Nutrition

Potanthus serina larvae feed on the leaves of their host plant, Flagellaria indica.

Diet : Herbivore (larva), Nectarivore

Mating Habits

Potanthus serina reproduces by laying eggs (oviparous), the eggs are laid individually on the leaves, either in the basalt or circular tendrils. Eggs are creamy white with yellow tinge, the surface is covered with many small holes, micropillars are on top.

Life cycle (Metamorfosis) : Potanthus serina eggs hatch after 4 – 5 days, the young caterpillars eat the shell when they hatch, the body length of the caterpillars is about 2.8mm. The body is initially golden in color but turns yellowish green after eating. The first instar took about 2.5 days to complete. In the 2nd instar, the dorso-lateral setae do not appear, the anal plate still has a short setae. These instars last about 3 days with a body length of about 9.5-10mm. The 3rd instar caterpillar resembles the 2nd instar caterpillar, the capsule of the head has an elongated whitish patch on each side of the “face”. This instar lasts about 3 days with a body length of about 17mm. The 4th instar caterpillar also resembles the 3rd instar caterpillar, this instar lasts for 2.5-3 days with a body length of about 22mm. The 5th (and last) instar of the caterpillar had no visible changes, this instar took about 5 days to complete with a body length of up to 35mm. Towards the end of the 5th instar, the caterpillar’s body shortens and turns a translucent pale green. The caterpillar becomes dormant in the shade of its leaves and enters a preparatory phase which lasts one day. During this period of time the prepupa’s body color turns yellow with a fair amount of silk thread and white waxy substance deposited in it. After 8 days, the pupae are mostly dark brown with yellow markings visible on the wing pads. The butterflies will come out the next day.

Reproduction session : –

Incubation periods: 4 – 5 hari.

Independent age : at birth

Baby name : –

Baby carrying : –

Population

Population status : Not Evaluated (NE)

NE

DD

LC

NT

VU

EN

CR

EW

EX

PHOTO GALLERY

Reference

  1. Khoon, S. 2010. A Field Guide to The Butterflies of Singapore. Ink On Paper Communications, Singapore.
  2. Potanthus serina on Wikipedia article 
  3. Potanthus serina article 
  4. Life History of The Large Dart