Caleta caleta
Encyclopedia
The Angled Pierrot is a species of blue butterfly
found in South Asia.
Male upperside is dark brownish black, a broad medial oblique white band across both fore and hind wings, not extended on the fore wing above vein 5, above vein 3 produced shortly outwards and downwards into a hook-like form. Underside: white with the following black markings:—On fore wing a short, outwardly-pointed, oblique, clavate streak from base joined below to a semi-circular broad band that reaches the costa; a short, outwardly oblique, upper diseal bar, its outer edge generally emurginate; the apex, the terraen narrowly, a large irregular sub-quadrate spot touching it in the middle and a very large inwardly oblique irregular spot or mark close to the tornus. On the hind wing: a hook-shaped mark at base sometimes slender; an inwardly oblique short clavate bar from apex, three coalescent spots extended outwards from the dorsum above the tornus formed into a sinuate irregular mark; a spot further outwards in interspace 4; a terminal series of slender lunules and an anticilary fine line. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black; beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen white.
Female. Similar to the male on both upper and under sides, but on the former the white medial band is narrower, on the latter the black markings are broader. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male.
, peninsular India
, Madhya Pradesh
, south Bihar
, Orissa
, and in the Himalayas
from Sikkim
to Assam
and onto Myanmar
. The butterfly is also found in southern Sulawesi
, Basilan
, and Mindanao
.
up to 300m though it has been recorded up to 2800m in southern parts. It is abundant in the monsoons. Not rare over the Indian range as per Wynter-blyth.
The butterfly flies rapidly, close to the ground visiting low flying bushes. Found along nullahs and shady paths. Visits damp patches.
Found in jungle and lightly forested country with moderate to heavy precipitation.
quoted in Bingham, 1907)
Similar to that of Castalius ethion but has two green bands on the back.
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
found in South Asia.
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....
Male upperside is dark brownish black, a broad medial oblique white band across both fore and hind wings, not extended on the fore wing above vein 5, above vein 3 produced shortly outwards and downwards into a hook-like form. Underside: white with the following black markings:—On fore wing a short, outwardly-pointed, oblique, clavate streak from base joined below to a semi-circular broad band that reaches the costa; a short, outwardly oblique, upper diseal bar, its outer edge generally emurginate; the apex, the terraen narrowly, a large irregular sub-quadrate spot touching it in the middle and a very large inwardly oblique irregular spot or mark close to the tornus. On the hind wing: a hook-shaped mark at base sometimes slender; an inwardly oblique short clavate bar from apex, three coalescent spots extended outwards from the dorsum above the tornus formed into a sinuate irregular mark; a spot further outwards in interspace 4; a terminal series of slender lunules and an anticilary fine line. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black; beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen white.
Female. Similar to the male on both upper and under sides, but on the former the white medial band is narrower, on the latter the black markings are broader. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male.
Range
The butterfly is found in Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, peninsular India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, south Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, and 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...
from Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
to Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
and onto Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
. The butterfly is also found in southern Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, Basilan
Basilan
The Province of Basilan is an island province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Basilan is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago and is located just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula...
, and Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
.
Status
Common in SikkimSikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
up to 300m though it has been recorded up to 2800m in southern parts. It is abundant in the monsoons. Not rare over the Indian range as per Wynter-blyth.
Habits
The butterfly flies rapidly, close to the ground visiting low flying bushes. Found along nullahs and shady paths. Visits damp patches.
Found in jungle and lightly forested country with moderate to heavy precipitation.
Larva
"Feeds on the tender leaves of the chorna (Zizyphus rugosa) .... pale green, of the usual woodlouse form, with the head concealed under the second segment. The whole body is more or less pubescent and there is a fringe of longer hairs on each side." (Davidson and AitkenEdward Hamilton Aitken
Edward Hamilton Aitken was a civil servant in India, better known for his humorist writings on natural history in India and as a founding member of the Bombay Natural History Society...
quoted in Bingham, 1907)
Pupa
"Short and stout, constricted between the thorax and abdomen, clothed with short hair, closely attached by tail and band to any convenient surface; colour ochreous mottled with brown." (Davidson and Aitken quoted in Bingham, 1907).Similar to that of Castalius ethion but has two green bands on the back.
See also
- Caleta decidiaCaleta decidiaThe Angled Pierrot is a species of blue butterfly found in South Asia.-See also:* Caleta caleta, a blue butterfly species* List of butterflies of India...
, a blue butterfly species - List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)