Elymnias nesaea, the tiger palmfly, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Subspecies
Elymnias nesaea nesaea - W.Java
Elymnias nesaea timandra Wallace, 1869 - Sikkim, Assam, northern Thailand, Laos, Yunnan Elymnias nesaea cortona Fruhstorfer, 1911 - Burma Elymnias nesaea apelles Fruhstorfer, 1902 - Thailand, lower Burma, southern Yunnan Elymnias nesaea lioneli Fruhstorfer, 1907 – Peninsular Malaya Elymnias nesaea laisides de Nicéville, 1896 - Sumatra Elymnias nesaea neolais de Nicéville, 1898 - Nias Elymnias nesaea kamarina Fruhstorfer, 1906 - Batu Islands Elymnias nesaea hypereides Fruhstorfer, 1903 - northern Borneo Elymnias nesaea coelifrons Fruhstorfer, 1907 - southern Borneo Elymnias nesaea hermia Fruhstorfer, 1907 - eastern Java Elymnias nesaea baweana Hagen, 1896 – Bawean Elymnias nesaea vordemani Snellen, 1902 - Kangean Islands
Description
Elymnias nesaea has a wingspan of about . The upperside of the wings is black with long bluish-green streaks. Forewings show four or five spots on the apical area, while hindwings have subterminal whitish spots in the posterior interspaces. The underside has a broad dark brown area on both wings. In females, the undersides are white with brown or yellowish shading.
The adult mimics Danaus aglea.
The larva feeds on various Arecaceae species, mainly on Calamus species, Trachycarpus forturei Cyrtostachys lakka, Cocos nucifera and Ptychosperma macarthurii.
Distribution
This species can be found in India, Thailand, Laos, Burma, Peninsular Malaya, Java, Sumatra and Borneo. Bhutan.