Sahyadri Clear Sailer

Neptis nata hampsoni Moore, 1899 കാട്ടുചോല പൊന്തചുറ്റൻ


Malayalam Name     

:

കാട്ടുചോല പൊന്തചുറ്റൻ

Order 

:

Lepidoptera

Super Family            

:

Papilionoidae (Butterflies)

Family              

: 

Nympalidae

Sub Family

:

Nymphalinae

DISTRIBUTION : South Asia and South East Asia

STATUS: 

HABITAT : Moist deciduous forests and urban landscape

HABITS

IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES: Pied medium sized butterfly with wingspan 45-60mm. 

Dry-season brood:

Male and female alike. Upperside deep purpurescent-black; markings bluish-white, very prominent, and with sharply-defined edges; cilia alternated with white. Forewing with the cell-streak broadly truncate at end, the broad discocellular spot beyond elongated to an acute point; discal curved series of spots of moderate size, the subapical rather elongated and oval, the lower four disposed linearly-oblique, the upper one small, oval, and placed very near the submarginal lunules, the two lowest smallest and narrow, the second being broad; a submarginal row of small white lunular spots, which are narrowest in the female, an inner submarginal slender sinuous obscure pale line, and a marginal obscure lunular line. 

Hindwing with a somewhat narrow inner-discal band, which ends at the upper subcostal vein, and a narrower outer-discal macular band; a medial-discal obscure pale slender lunular line, and a marginal even line; base of costa in male broadly glossy silvery-grey, and with a duller grey medially disposed patch of scales from the costal vein to below base of the radial. Underside dusky olivescent purplish-brown; markings as above, prominent, all bluish-white, except the inner and outer marginal line on forewing, and the medial disoal and marginal line on the hindwing, as well as its two basal streaks, which are lilacine-grey. Body and palpi above black, thorax iridescent; abdomen above with a basal slight bluish-grey band; palpi and thorax beneath, forelegs, middle and hind femora bluish-grey; abdomen beneath, middle and hind tibiae and tarsi pale ochreous-brown. 

Wet-season hrood: Upperside with all the markings somewhat narrower; underside with the ground-colour reddish-brown; markings as above, except that on the hindwing the medial-discal white band extends anteriorly above the upper subcostal vein

Underside 6  alternate broad and narrow white bands in hind wings

SIMILAR SPECIES : Common Sailor, Chesnut streaked Sailor, Sullied Sailor

LARVAL HOST PLANTSLIFE CYCLE

Trema orientalis (Cannabaceae).

MORE IMAGES





Courtesy 
Write up:Wikipaedia
Images: TNHS

കേരള വനം വന്യജീവി വകുപ്പ്  
മാങ്കുളം ഡിവിഷൻ

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