File #013 //
Japanese Oakblue Butterfly
(Arhopala Japonica)
Core Data
Designation: Butterfly
Habitat: It has been found in Indochina, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan.
Diet: Caterpillars eat leaves, while adults sip nectar, tree sap, or even feed on fermenting fruit and bird droppings for minerals.
Size: It has around 30 to 40mm wingspan.
Lifecycle: About 1 year.
Specialized Functions
Similar to Blue Morpho Butterflies, their iridescent blue wings are not from pigment but from microscopic structures on their wing scales that reflects light!
The Caterpillar of the Japanese Oakblue secretes sugar droplets that attract Ants. Once the droplets are eaten, these Ants become "mind-controlled" guards for this Caterpillar. Whenever the Caterpillar everted its tentacles the ants would move around rapidly and start acting aggressively!