Melanitis leda Linnaeus, 1758

Melanitis leda, also called the Common Evening Brown, is a common butterfly found in Africa, South Asia and South-east Asia extending to parts of Australia.

55-60mm

Adults: Wet-season form: Fore wing: apex subacute; termen slightly angulated just below apex, or straight. Upperside brown. Fore wing with two large subapical black spots, each with a smaller spot outwardly of pure white inwardly bordered by a ferruginous interrupted lunule; costal margin narrowly pale. Hind wing with a dark, white-centred, fulvous-ringed ocellus subterminally in interspace 2, and the apical ocellus, sometimes also others of the ocelli,on the underside, showing through. Underside paler, densely covered with transverse dark brown striae; a discal curved dark brown narrow band on fore wing; a post-discal similar oblique band, followed by a series of ocelli: four on the fore wing, that in interspace 8 the largest; six on the hind wing, the apical and subtornal the largest. Dry-season form: Fore wing: apex obtuse and more or less falcate; termen posterior to falcation straight or sinuous. Upperside: ground-colour similar to that in the wet-season form, the markings, especially the ferruginous lunules inwardly bordering the black sub-apical spots on fore wing, larger, more extended below and above the black costa. Hind wing: the ocellus in interspace 2 absent, posteriorly replaced by three or four minute white subterminal spots. Underside varies in colour greatly. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen in both seasonal forms brown or greyish brown: the antennae annulated with white, ochraceous at apex.

Melanitis exhibits excellent camouflage by resembling a dead dry leaf by sitting on dead leaves with its wings folded. Species of this genus when disturbed fly a little way, drop suddenly into the undergrowth with closed wings, and invariably lie a little askew and slanting, which increases their similarity to a dead leaf casually fallen to the ground. Commonly found flying at dusk, the flight of Melanitis leda is erratic. Resident butterflies are known to be very territorial. They have been known to fight off visitors to an area at dusk. This chase behavior is elicited even by pebbles thrown nearby.

Caterpillars feed on a wide variety of grasses including rice (Oryza sativa), bamboos, Andropogon, Rotboellia cochinchinensis, Brachiaria mutica, Cynodon sp, Imperata sp, and millets such as Oplismenus compositus, Panicum sp. and Eleusine indica. Adults feed mainly on nectar, and in rare cases visit rotting fruits.

Forests and human habitats.

Not Rare