Oriental Chocolate Pansy

August 10, 2023

Junonia iphita iphita (Cramer, [1779]) ചോക്ലേറ്റ് ശലഭം

Malayalam Name	:	ചോക്ലേറ്റ് ശലഭം
Order	:	Lepidoptera
Super Family	:	Papilionoidae (Butterflies)
Family	:	Nympalidae
Sub Family	:	Nymphalinae
DISTRIBUTION Asia STATUS: Common HABITAT Seen in urban, suburban and forest landscape. HABITS Individuals maintain a territory and are usually found close to the ground level and often bask in the sun IDENTIFICATION FEATURES Medium size reddish or greenish brown butterfly with wingspan 50-60 mm and the female can be told apart from the male by white markings on the oblique line on the underside of the hindwing. The wavy lines on the underside of the wings vary from wet- to dry-season forms.Upperside of both sexes brown of varying depths of colour. Forewing: cell with one pair of subbasal and one pair of apical transverse sinuous fasciae, the outermost defining the discocellulars; a short, broad, dark, oblique fascia beyond to vein 4, its inner margin diffuse, its outer sinuous but sharply defined; below vein 4 a sinuous, transverse, more faint fascia, followed by a discal blackish fascia, very broad and diffuse, below costa, bordered by a row of faint ocelli, and a postdiscal and a subterminal similar fascia following the outline of the termen. Hindwing with a slender blackish loop near apex of cellular area; a broad inwardly diffuse, outwardly well-defined short discal fascia in continuation of the one on the forewing; a series of postdiscal somewhat ochraceous ocelli with black pupils minutely centred with white; postdiscal and subterminal broad lines as on the forewing. Underside brown, with very broad darker brown transverse fasciae, the interspaces between the markings irrorated (sprinkled) with purplish silvery scales. Forewing with two sinuous fasciae on basal half succeeded by a discal fascia, very broad at the costal margin and decreasing in width to the dorsum, bearing on its outer border a row of obscure ocelli. This is succeeded by a zigzag dark line, and sinuous subterminal and terminal lines; apex and tornal area suffused with purplish silvery. Hindwing: two irregular, very broad, dark brown, curved short fasciae near base; a straight, transverse, prominent, narrow ochreous-brown discal band defined outwardly by a black line; a transverse postdiscal dark brown fascia, widest in the middle and bearing outwardly a curved row of ochreous-brown white-centred ocelli, followed by a zigzag dark line in continuation of the one on the forewing; a subterminal somewhat diffuse dark fascia and a terminal dark line. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen dark brown. SIMILAR SPECIES Similar to Common Baron.Can be easily identified by the shape of wings and the presence of series of orange ocelli with black spot in the upperside of hindwing insted of series of blackspots in the Baron. LARVAL HOST PLANTS Asystasia spp., Barleria spp., Eremomastax spp., Hygrophila auriculata, Hygrophila costata, Justicia spp., Ruellia spp. (Acanthaceae), Mimosa pudica (Fabaceae).Strobulanthus spp LIFE CYCLE MORE IMAGES