Parantica pseudomelaneus

Also known as Javan Chocolate Tiger, False Chocolate Tiger

This delicate milkweed butterfly flutters through the misty canopies and sunlit glades of Indonesian cloud forests, navigating montane ridges with a slow, gliding flight. Caterpillars feed on selective milky-sapped climbing vines, sequestering bitter cardiac glycosides that render both larvae and adults distasteful to insectivorous birds. Adult males actively seek out wet soil and specific nectar sources to gather pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are vital for producing courtship pheromones stored in their abdominal hair-pencils.