Striped Pierrot Tarucus nara Life Cycle

The Striped Pierrot (Tarucus nara) is a small butterfly (wingspan: 24 - 28 mm) found in South Asia that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues family.

Striped Pierrot (Tarucus nara) Butterfly Life Cycle
Eggs are laid singly on the young shoots of the host plants Zizyphus sp. It takes 2-3 days for the egg to hatch.
Egg
Egg

The caterpillars of this species feed on Zizyphus sp. and are attended by ants. The caterpillars occur in two colors i.e pale green and dark green. The caterpillar reach a maximum length of about 14 mm. The larva stage last for about 12 days.
Larva
Larva

On maturity the caterpillar stops eating and attache itself to a leaf head down, supported by a silken grid at the center. The pupa has a length of about 8-9mm. Like caterpillars the pupa also occur in two colors i.e pale green and dark green. On the 6th day the pupa turns transparent, revealing the new butterfly inside and after some time the adult butterfly enclosed itself. Before flight, the newly emerged butterfly takes some time to inflating its wings with blood and letting them dry.
Pupa
Pupa
Newly Emerged Butterfly

9 comments:

Ayuni said...

hye, can you find some pictures on lizards? they are unique....

Birdy Official said...

Salam and thanks Ayuni for the visit and comment. I have some pictures of lizards and will post them in coming days.

Fotograf ślubny said...

great photos

Amir Weinstein said...

Beautiful

We have the Tarucus rosaceus also develop on Zizyphus sp.
According local literature, the larvae pupa inside wood ant nest

Birdy Official said...

@Fotograf ślubny, Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks Amir for taking the time to leave a comment on my blog. I always learn something new and interesting from.

Andrea said...

Hi Birdy, now this one looks the same as the others before this also. But i am familiar with that larva i didn't know it is a butterfly instead of a moth. What is the specific host plant. I remember finding that larva in our rose before, which i even posted here. But i haven't seen their pupa though.

Anonymous said...

Butterflies!!! what a wonderful delight. I still ran after butterflies, chasing them with my nieces :)

Alfandi said...

excellent presentation...i love your work..

isaac said...

Good work indeed !!

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