Hypolycaena erylus
Encyclopedia
The Common Tit
is a small but striking butterfly
found in India
and Southeast Asia
that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues
family.
, Sikkim
- Burma, Thailand
, Laos
, Vietnam
, South Yunnan
, Java
, Lombok
, Peninsular Malaysia
, Sumatra
, Borneo
, Andamans, Nias
, Sulawesi
, Philippines
, Sula
, Bachan, Halmahera
, Obi
, Bismarck Archipelago
and Waigeu.
The male butterfly is pale blue to dark brown above, dark shining purple depending on the light. It has a black border with the upper forewing having a large black discal area of modified scales.
The female butterfly is dark brown and its hindwing has a white disconnected discal band above the tornus. The butterfly also has a white-edged tornal black spot in 2.
), is found in mainland India
while another H. erylus andamana Moore is found in the Andamans. All subspecies are:
is a small but striking butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
found in 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...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family.
Range
NepalNepal
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...
, Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
- Burma, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, South Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, Lombok
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...
, Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, Andamans, Nias
Nias
Nīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago....
, 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...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Sula
Sula Islands
The Sula Islands are a group of islands in North Maluku in Indonesia. Its three main islands are Mangole, Sanae and Taliabu, with smaller islands Lifamatola and Seho. It is administered as Kepulauan Sula Regency...
, Bachan, Halmahera
Halmahera
Halmahera is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia.Halmahera has a land area of 17,780 km² and a population in 1995 of 162,728...
, Obi
Obi Islands
The Obi Islands are a group of islands in the Indonesian province of Maluku. They lie north of Buru and Ceram....
, Bismarck Archipelago
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
and Waigeu.
Description
The underside of both sexes is pale greyish brown. The underside hindwing does not have a spot in the basal area of 7. The butterfly has two tails - a 6mm long one at V1 and a 5mm long tail at V2. The markings include.-- a double bar at end-cell.
- a regular discal line on the forewing.
- a broken, less regular line on the hindwing.
The male butterfly is pale blue to dark brown above, dark shining purple depending on the light. It has a black border with the upper forewing having a large black discal area of modified scales.
The female butterfly is dark brown and its hindwing has a white disconnected discal band above the tornus. The butterfly also has a white-edged tornal black spot in 2.
Taxonomy
The butterfly has a number of subspecies of which one, Hypolycaena erylus himavantus (FruhstorferHans Fruhstorfer
Hans Fruhstorfer was a German explorer, insect trader and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He collected and described many new species of exotic butterflies, especially in Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World...
), is found in mainland 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...
while another H. erylus andamana Moore is found in the Andamans. All subspecies are:
- Hypolycaena erylus erylus (Java)
- Hypolycaena erylus pupienus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Lombok)
- Hypolycaena erylus teatus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo)
- Hypolycaena erylus himavantus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Nepal, Sikkim to Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, southern Yunnan)
- Hypolycaena erylus andamana Moore, 1877 (Andamans)
- Hypolycaena erylus syphax Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Nias)
- Hypolycaena erylus gamatius Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Sulawesi) (= Hypolycaena erylus pigres Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Obi))
- Hypolycaena erylus tmolus C. & R. Felder, 1862 (Philippines)
- Hypolycaena erylus orsiphantus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Philippines: Basilan)
- Hypolycaena erylus aimnestus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Palawan)
- Hypolycaena erylus georgius Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Sula)
- Hypolycaena erylus thyrius Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Bachan, Halmahera)
- Hypolycaena erylus moutoni Ribbe
- Hypolycaena erylus figulus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Waigeu)
- Hypolycaena erylus erna Kalis, 1933 (Bismarck Archipelago)
Habits
The butterfly is abundant at low elevations. Males are known to cluster at damp patches while the females are rarely seen.External links
- Asahinet Photographs of correctly determined specimens of Hypolycaena erylus from the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
See also
- LycaenidaeLycaenidaeThe Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
- List of butterflies of India
- List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)