Whilst
birdwatching in the Bani Saad area recently I came across a small group of Common
Grass Yellow butterflies Eurema hecabe.
They are also known as ‘Large Grass Yellows’ or ‘Grass Yellows’ and are small
to medium butterflies that are found in Africa, Arabia, Asia, South Pacific
islands and Australia. They are bright lemon yellow in colour, and have black
markings at the tips and bordersof the butterfly’s wings and a narrow black
band on the hind wing, and the underside of the wings are paler yellow with
brown speckles and a wingspan of 35 to 45 millimetres. Common Grass Yellow
butterflies like to fly quickly, close to the ground, are found in open grassy
or bushy terrain, hence their name. They have different colouration in their
wings depending on the season, known as ‘seasonal polyphenism’, resulting in
generally darker wing colours in summer. They are often seen in large groups. The
female is larger and a paler yellow, with broader black but diffused markings
on the upper sides of both wings. There are typically two cell spots on the
forewing – a characteristic that is mainly used to identify the lookalike
species in the genus.
