Abnormal Silverline

 Cigaritis abnormis (Moore, [1884])


Malayalam Name

:

വിചിത്ര വെള്ളിവരയൻ

Order

:

Lepidoptera

Family

:

Lycaenidae

Sub-family

:

Aphnaeinae

Sub species

:

Cigaritis abnormis

Subspecies common names

:

Tamil Long-banded Silverline


DISTRIBUTION

           South India and Pakistan

STATUS: Not rare


HABITAT: 


HABITS


IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES

Wing Span: 30-42 mm.

Male: Upperside dull greyish-violet with some violet gloss in certain lights. Forewing blackish-brown and this colour continued down the outer margin and ending narrowly at the hinder angle.Forewing with a dot in the cell, a bar across the end, extending to the costa, a band from the middle of the costa to the middle of the interno-median interspace, almost touching the lower end of a very indistinct sub-marginal luuular series, a sub-apical band from the costa of two pairs oi very indistinct small spots. 

Hindwing under with the abdominal space pale grey, almost whitish, the base and outer parts of the wing smeared with dark grey. , anal patch dull greyish-orange, no spots visible; tails short, dull orange, tipped with white and edged with black.


Female:. Upperside paler than in the male and more violet in colour, some blackish suffusion on the costa, apical and outer marginal band narrow and inwardly diffuse, a blackish bar at the end of the cell. Underside as in the male.

SIMILAR SPECIES 

 

LARVAL HOST PLANTS

Feed on species of Terminalia  (Combretaceae). Cassia fistula, Entada scandens (Fabaceae).

LIFE CYCLE

MORE IMAGES

MALE

FEMALE


Courtesy 

Write up:Wikipaedia
Images: TNHS & iFoundbutterfly.org

കേരള വനം വന്യജീവി വകുപ്പ്  
മാങ്കുളം ഡിവിഷൻ


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