Common Wanderer Female

The Common Wanderer or Malayan Wanderer (Pareronia valeria) is a medium sized male butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, and is found in India and Southeast Asia. It is found in open woodlands with moderate rainfall at low elevations. Found in NEERI campus too but tough to photograph.

It has a wingspan of 65-80 mm. Males are pale blue or bluish white on upper wings, with black margin bearing on upper hind wing, prominent marginal spots that increase in size towards apex.

The soft blue coloring is characteristic of the male; the female is yellow-orange. Common Wanderers often mimic the Glassy Tiger species. While the male Common Wanderer is blue with black stripes, the female butterfly of the Common Wanderer mimics another butterfly, the Glassy Tiger Parantica aglea in coloration, marking and even flight. This mimicry is a way of discouraging predation. It is not limited just to appearance, when the female Wanderer is foraging for food, or looking for a host plant to oviposit; it flies and behaves like the Yellow Glassy Tiger. But when alarmed the Wanderer takes off in a very capable fashion. This is an example of Batesian mimicry.