Ariadne merione 2985218 219743180 2008-06-16T18:07:43Z Word4michael 4316723 corrected typo showed "30-35cm" instead of the correct "30-35mm" in the introduction {{Taxobox | name = Common Castor | image = Ariadne_merione.png | image_width = 200px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | classis = [[Insect]]a | ordo = [[Lepidoptera]] | familia = [[Brush-footed butterfly|Nymphalidae]] | genus = ''[[Ariadne (genus)|Ariadne]]'' | species = '''''A. merione''''' | binomial = ''Ariadne merione'' | binomial_authority = ([[Pieter Cramer|Cramer]], [[1777]]) | synonyms = ''Ergolis merione'' }} '''Ariadne merione''', also known as the '''Common Castor''', is an orange [[butterfly]] with brown lines whose [[larvae]] feed almost exclusively on Castor ''[[Ricinus communis]]''. This species is found in south-eastern [[Asia]]. Their wingspan ranges between 30-35mm. Like others in the [[Brush-footed butterfly|Nymphalidae]] family, their front two legs are small and unused, effectively making them four-legged. These smaller appendages are covered with long hairs, giving them the characteristic brush look. ==Description== ===Wet-season form=== [[Image:Ariadnemerione ad sec.jpg |thumb|left]] Male: Upper side brownish ochraceous. Fore and hind wings crossed by slender, somewhat obscure, very sinuous or zigzag dark basal, two subbasal and two discal lines disposed in pairs, followed by a single, sometimes double, postdiscal and a single subterminal slender line. All these lines more or less interrupted anteriorly on the hind wing, which has a smooth unmarked uniform appearance from costa to subcostal vein and vein 5. On the fore wing there is in addition a series of obscure spots between the postdiscal and subterminal markings, arid a small white subcostal spot before the apex. [[Image:Common Castor Ariadne merione I IMG 0515.jpg|thumb| In [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. ]] Underside much as in ''[[Ariadne ariadne]]'', but the transverse chestnut bands broader, more diffuse. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brownish ochraceous. Sex-mark on the underside of the fore wing as in ''A. ariadne'' no sex-mark on upper side of hind wing; <ref>Bingham, C. T. (1905) [[Fauna of British India]]. Butterflies Vol. 1</ref> Female: Similar; but on the upperside the transverse lines broader, more diffuse, with a greater tendency to form bands; the postdiscal line always double, forming a band traversed by a series of dark ochraceous spots in the interspaces; these lines and bands continuous, not interrupted anteriorly on the hind wing as they are in the male. Underside: except for the sex-mark, as in the male. ===Dry-season form=== [[Image:Common Castor (Ariadne merione) in Kolkata W IMG 4467.jpg|thumb|left|Dry-season form in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. ]] [[Image:Common Castor (Ariadne merione) in Kolkata W IMG 4465.jpg|thumb|Dry-season form in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. ]] Upperside : ground-colour much paler, the transverse lines more distinctly in pairs, forming bands, the ground-colour between each pair more dusky brown. Underside similar to that in the wet-season form, but the ground-colour paler, the bands more diffuse. Expanse: 52-62 mm ==Distribution== All over India, Simla to Sikhim in the Himalayas, and recorded from Rajputana and Bengal; Assam; Burma; Tenasserim; Malayan Subregion. The Tenasserim specimens are darker and often without the white subcostal spot in the fore wing, approximating thus to the Southern Indian and Ceylon race. ==Life history== <gallery> Image:Ariadne merione egg sec.jpg|Egg Image:Ariadnemerione egg sec.jpg |Egg Image:Ariadne merione cat sec.jpg |Caterpillar Image:Ariadnemerione pupa sec.jpg |Chrysalis Image:Common castor mating.JPG|Common Castor Mating Image:Common Castor Ariadne merione I IMG 0524.jpg| In [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. Image:Common Castor Ariadne merione I IMG 0503.jpg| In [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. Image:Common Castor Ariadne merione I IMG 0519.jpg| In [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. Image:Common Castor (Ariadne merione) at Jayanti, Duars, West Bengal W Picture 382.jpg| at [[Jayanti]] in [[Buxa Tiger Reserve]] in [[Jalpaiguri]] district of [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. Image:Common Castor (Ariadne merione) at Jayanti, Duars, West Bengal W Picture 381.jpg| at [[Jayanti]] in [[Buxa Tiger Reserve]] in [[Jalpaiguri]] district of [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. </gallery> ==Larva== "Cylindrical, slender; segments armed with two dorsal and two lateral rows of short branched-spines; head with a pair of long, straight branched-spines. Colour green with dorsal longitudinal dark brown lines." (Moore) [[Caterpillar]]s of the genus are protected from predators by their long spinous bristles. Their [[Pupa#Chrysalis|chrysalids]] are pale green and angular in shape. ==Pupa== "Similar to that of ''A. ariadne.''" (Moore) ==References== <references/> {{nymphalidae-stub}}