Sahyadri Blue Nawab

Charaxes schreiber wardii (Moore, 1896) നീല നവാബ്  



Malayalam Name 

:

നീല നവാബ്

Family 

:

Nymphalidae

Sub-family             

:

Charaxinae

Tribe                     

: 

Leptociaini

Order

:

Lepidoptera


DISTRIBUTION
               Asia and South East Asia
STATUS:   Not common
HABITAT
They are found in .
HABITS
Tts
IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES
Large size Black  butterfly with wingspan 95-100 mm.   
Male has upperside ground colour black, glossed slightly with dull indigo-blue, or, in some specimens, light green at the base of the wings. Forewings and hindwings with a broad white discal bar from interspace 4 in forewing to just below the apex of the median vein in the hindwing, narrowing on the latter wing to a point. This bar has, on the outer side on both forewings and hindwings, an irregular border of small-blue, which is narrowest anteriorly and broadens posteriorly respectively on both forewings and hindwings. Forewing with, in addition, a white rectangular spot in interspace 5 and a small whitish speck above it. Hindwing with a subterminal row of small white dots, a terminal row of deep ochraceous spots, and some small-blue markings on the tails and margins near the tornal angle. Underside pearly white, broadly brownish pink along the dorsal margin of hindwing. Forewing: two black spots at base of cell; a broad olive-green band edged on both sides with black, followed by a discal bluish-white band, as on the upperside, and continuation of that on the forewing, terminating on vein 1, followed by a broad discal, posteriorly narrowing, white bar as on the upperside. 

SIMILAR SPECIES 
LARVAL HOST PLANTS
Adenanthera pavonina, Bauhinia phoenicea, Cynometra cauliflora, Moullava spicata (Fabaceae), Helicteres isora (Malvaceae), Aglaia lawii (Meliaceae), Nephelium lappaceum, Rourea minor (Sapindaceae)..

LIFE CYCLE


MORE IMAGES 




Courtesy 
Write up:Wikipaedia
Images: TNHS

കേരള വനം വന്യജീവി വകുപ്പ്  
മാങ്കുളം ഡിവിഷൻ

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