 The
Blue Nawab is very much the rarer of the two Polyura species found
in Singapore. It is a strong flyer like Polyura hebe plautus
and prefers to remain at high levels. The silvery undersides is marked
with brown and purple patterns. The upperside has a white median
band ornamented with blue. It possesses a pair of tails on the hindwings.
The female of the species is usually larger with broader and longer tails.
The species has been observed in the vicinity of mangrove areas near Sg
Buloh Nature Reserve, and on Singapore's offshore islands of Pulau Ubin
and Pulau Tekong.
The caterpillar of this species
is dark green with four spiny horns on the head and has a broad orange-yellow
band on the 3rd abdominal segment. The host plant has been recorded
as Nephelium lappaceum (Rambutan). However, we have found
it on Adenanthera pavonina (Red Saga) where it was feeding on the
leaves with other caterpillars of Polyura hebe plautus. The
caterpillar weaved a silken pad on the Adenanthera leaves where
it used as a "base camp" from which it makes forays to other parts of the
plant to eat (usually at night), then returning without fail, to its "base
camp" to rest during the day. The caterpillars were bred to adulthood,
proving that the species also feeds on Adenanthera. |
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