Red-disc Bushbrown

August 20, 2023

Telinga oculus Marshall, 1881 — Red-disc Bushbrown

Malayalam Name	:	തീക്കണ്ണൻ തവിടൻ
Common Name	;	Red-disc Bushbrown
Order	:	Lepidoptera
Super Family	:	Papilionoidae (Butterflies)
Family	:	Nympalidae
Sub Family	:	Satyrinae

DISTRIBUTION : Hills of Western Ghats

STATUS: Endemic to Western Ghats

HABITAT : Evergreen and Semi Evergreen Forests and Bamboo Breaks

HABITS

IDENTIFICATION FEATURES:

Male. Upperside rich ferruginous-brown. Forewing darker brown externally; with an indistinct small subapical black spot with white pupil; a very large prominent lower black ocellus, with large white pupil, broadly surrounded externally with bright ferruginous-red, which latter colour forms an irregular discal patch extending from the posterior margin and is anteriorly prolonged in front of the subapical spot to near the costa. Hindwing with four anteriorly decreasing moderately small black ocelli with white pupils and darker ferruginous-red outer rings. Cilia dark cinereous. Underside paler ferruginous-brown, more ochraceous brown externally. Both wings with the basal area marked with short dark ferruginous-brown strigae, and with a distinct darker brown transverse discal line, which is widely ochreous bordered externally at its costal end on the forewing, and narrowly with cinereous posteriorly on both wings. Forewing with a minute subapical and a small lower median ocellus, and sometimes a white dot is also present between the upper and middle median veins. Hindwing with six very small ocelli, the four upper and the lowest being minute.Wingspan 45-65 mm

SIMILAR SPECIES :

Somewhat similar to Mycalesis adolphei (Red Eyed Bush Brown) but the eyespots on the median vein of the upper forewing much larger and encircled by a broad ring of orange red and extending towards the costal margin

LARVAL HOST PLANTS

Cyrtococcum trigonum, Polytrias indica, Oplismenus compositus (Poaceae).

LIFE CYCLE