Euploea mulciber - ssp. cebuensis or visaya?

[martellat0]

Hello all -

I netted both of these specimens a few weeks ago in Cebu, Philippines at an elevation of roughly 100 MASL. I'd please like help in identifying whether they are subspecies cebuensis (M. & T. Okano, 1986) or visaya (Semper, 1886). If I recall correctly, I remember reading that visaya occurs on a number of islands in the Visayas island group, while cebuensis is limited to Cebu (go figure). I would link the article below, but I've forgotten where it was published - I only remember that it was a checklist written by Colin Treadaway in a lepidopterological journal of some sort. While I've seen images of confirmed specimens of visaya (which match mine for the most part), I have not been able to find a single image of cebuensis to use as a point of comparison. If anyone would be able to point toward a conclusion, I would be most grateful.

Besides the two pictured, I've also caught five other females last month. None are in truly flawless condition, though it's likely that I will catch more specimens in the coming months - hopefully some will be pristine. I'm sure many enthusiasts of Euploea spp. and other similar species with velvety black wings share my frustration in running after a specimen and netting it, only to see that the wing surfaces are covered in a series of scratches and abrasions.

[martellat0]

I've found the checklist:
https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/NEVA-SUP_14_0001-0188.pdf
Page 64 of the manuscript (not the PDF file) indicates that Cebu island only has one subspecies, cebuensis. Still, the journal was published almost thirty years ago, so it's possible this is no longer the case. Any photos of cebuensis would be much appreciated, as would the opinions of the experts that undoubtedly frequent these boards. Thanks!

[adamcotton]

Treadaway & Schroeder (2012) list 17 different subspecies of Euploea mulciber in the Philippines, including Euploea mulciber cebuensis Okano & Okano, 1986 restricted to Cebu, so I would expect that your specimens can be referred to that subspecies. They do not illustrate this species at all.

Ref.: Treadaway, C. G. & H. G. Schroeder 2012. Revised checklist of the butterflies of the Philippine Islands (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, Supplementum 20: 1-64.

Adam.

PS. Welcome to Insectnet!

[martellat0]

Thanks for the reply (and for taking the time to properly cite that checklist!)

Shame about the lack of accompanying photographs - I would have liked to finally put a face to the name, so to speak. For now though, I'm reasonably satisfied with this ID.

Cheers!

[adamcotton]

I checked some of the literature I have here (mainly on my subject - Papilionidae) and also could not find any photos. I did not have a copy of Okano & Okano (1986), but I just found it online, with photos of the types. A copy can be downloaded here:
https://iwate-u.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/1 ... 05-111.pdf
Your specimens look very similar and should be representative of the subspecies.

Euploea mulciber is a widespread species with very many subspecies across SE Asia which probably do not move from island to island except for very occasional accidental movement - a typhoon could possibly be one reason. This species is rather robust and could likely survive being blown long distance in a storm. I recently reviewed a manuscript about a much more flimsy butterfly that was apparently blown from Taiwan to Okinawa and survived.

Adam.

[martellat0]

Many thanks!

[Trehopr1]

Appreciate the photos of your wonderful self caught specimens !

Feel free to post them anytime.