Aulocera brahminus
Encyclopedia
Narrow-banded Satyr Aulocera brahminus is a Brown
butterfly that is found in the Himalayas
.
eastwards to Garhwal
, Kumaon
, Nepal
and Sikkim
.
The Narrow-banded Satyr is 55 to 68 mm in wingspan.
The Narrow-banded satyrs are large powerfully built Himalayan butterflies which are black or very dark brown above. They are characterised by a white discal band across both wings. The hindwing band is narrow and even in width. The white discal spots in 1 to 4 along the inner edge of the forewing are in line. The wings are rounded with convex termens and have checquered fringes. A dark apical spot or ocellus is present on the forewing. The under hindwing is dark below, with beautiful white variegations not as prominent as the dark background.
The tegumen is gradually sloped to the tip.
Earlier Aulocera brahminoides was considered a subspecies of A. brahminus. In A. brahminus, the under-forewing apical ocellus is well-defined and prominently pupilled while in A. brahminoides it is less well defined, much smaller and darker. The upper-hindwing discal band to dorsum, which is a characteristic feature in A. brahminus is much curved in the case of A. brahminoides.
Satyrinae
Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the Browns, is a subfamily of the Nymphalidae . They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diversity of brush-footed butterflies...
butterfly that is found in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
.
Range
The butterfly is found in the Himalayas from KashmirKashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
eastwards to Garhwal
Garhwal Division
Garhwal is the north-western region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the north-west by...
, Kumaon
Kumaon Division
For Kumaoni/Kumauni People see Kumauni PeopleKumaon or Kumaun is one of the two regions and administrative divisions of Uttarakhand, a mountainous state of northern India, the other being Garhwal. It includes the districts of Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
.
Description
- For a key to the terms used see Lepidopteran glossaryGlossary of Lepidopteran termsThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....
The Narrow-banded Satyr is 55 to 68 mm in wingspan.
The Narrow-banded satyrs are large powerfully built Himalayan butterflies which are black or very dark brown above. They are characterised by a white discal band across both wings. The hindwing band is narrow and even in width. The white discal spots in 1 to 4 along the inner edge of the forewing are in line. The wings are rounded with convex termens and have checquered fringes. A dark apical spot or ocellus is present on the forewing. The under hindwing is dark below, with beautiful white variegations not as prominent as the dark background.
The tegumen is gradually sloped to the tip.
Earlier Aulocera brahminoides was considered a subspecies of A. brahminus. In A. brahminus, the under-forewing apical ocellus is well-defined and prominently pupilled while in A. brahminoides it is less well defined, much smaller and darker. The upper-hindwing discal band to dorsum, which is a characteristic feature in A. brahminus is much curved in the case of A. brahminoides.