The past week was noted for the arrival in
the Maltese islands of a non-resident butterfly – the plain tiger or as it is
sometimes known the African monarch.
The plain tiger is widespread and common in
Africa and Asia as well as on most of the islands of the south Pacific, and
across much of Australia.
By butterfly standards it is considered as a
medium-sized butterfly but compared to the butterflies found in the Maltese
islands it is definitely a large butterfly. ts body is black with many white
spots but anybody spotting this butterfly is more likely to see it flying or
resting on a flower with its wings open. In this case one would see the tawny
and black upper wings and perhaps the series of white spots on the
hindwing.
The plain tiger is highly migratory. In the
Maltese islands it is used to be a very rare visitor but nowadays it is being recorded
with increasing frequency and in larger numbers. This could be due to this
species expanding its range possibly as a result of climate change.
There are no records of this butterfly ever
having bred in the Maltese countryside but this does not exclude the
possibility that it could breed or even become a regular breeder in the future
especially if the food-plant of its caterpillar, the milkweed, becomes more
common.
In Maltese it is known as farfett ta’ danaus, clearly not a folk
name but a name given to it by entomologists who made up the Maltese name from
its scientific name Danaus chrysippus.
This week’s bad weather might stop the
arrival of more plain tigers but more might still arrive as soon as the weather
changes It would be very useful if readers email me the records of any plain
tigers that they have seen or that they might see in the coming days and weeks.
This article was published in the Times of Malta on 13 November 2013.
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