Project butterfly Mankulam Division

  Cigaritis meghamalaiensis (Sadasivan and Naicker, 2023) Malayalam Name : മേഘമല വെള്ളിവരയൻ Order : Lepidopte ra Family : Lycaenidae Sub-family : Aphnaeinae Sub species : No subspecies common names : Meghamalai Silverline DISTRIBUTION Western Ghats             STATUS: Recently discovered species. C. meghamalaiensis  has been described from the  Meghamalai  hills, in the southern part of the  Western Ghats . It is found to be common in the Meghamalai of Tamil Nadu and in the nearby  Periyar Tiger Reserve  of Kerala HABITAT:  Cloud forests of WG HABITS IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES Wing Span: 30-42 mm. Cigaritis meghamalaiensis  is distinguished from other species of the genus in peninsular South Asia, having the discal and postdiscal bands on the underside of the forewing being conjoined and parallel. It is also characterized by a continuous post-basal band on the underside of the hindwing, w...

Cigaritis lilacinus (Moore, 1884)  Malayalam Name : ലൈലാക് വെള്ളിവരയൻ Order : Lepidopte ra Family : Lycaenidae Sub-family : Aphnaeinae Sub species : No subspecies common names : Lilac Silverline DISTRIBUTION            Asia STATUS: Not rare HABITAT:  HABITS IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES Wing Span: 30-42 mm. Upperside brown. Forewing with the basal and discal areas blue, somewhat iridescent blue in certain lights. Hindwing with the basal and inner space similarly blue, an orange-ochreous anal patch, a small black spot in the anal lobe, sometimes another on the margin in the next interspace; tails black, tipped with white, the orange-ochreous colour running half way up them; both wings with the outer marginal line blackish-brown. Cilia white. Underside pale brownish-ochreous, bands slightly darker than the ground colour, finely edged with black, with silvery scales down their middle. Forewing with a small sub-basal round ringed ...

Cigaritis ictis ictis (Hewitson, 1865) Malayalam Name : ചെമ്പൻ വെള്ളിവരയൻ Order : Lepidopte ra Family : Lycaenidae Sub-family : Aphnaeinae Sub species : Cigaritis ictis ictis Subspecies common names : Indian Common Shot Silverline DISTRIBUTION            India and Sri Lanka STATUS: Not rare HABITAT:  HABITS IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES Wing Span: 30-42 mm. Male. Upperside brown, with a purplish reflection in certain lights. Forewing with a somewhat triangular-shaped orange patch in the upper disc, variable in size in different examples, with two short blackish bars in it, the inner the shorter, where the orange space runs sufiiciently inwards there is another bar outwardly oblique right across its inner side.  Underside  of forewing with a small spot in the cell, a bar across the end extending to the costa, a band from the middle of the costa, outwardly oblique to the sub-median vein to near the hinder angle where it is ...

Cigaritis elima elima (Moore, 1877) Malayalam Name : നീലചെമ്പൻ വെള്ളിവരയൻ Order : Lepidopte ra Family : Lycaenidae Sub-family : Aphnaeinae Sub species : Cigaritis elima elima Subspecies common names : Indian Scare Shot Silverline DISTRIBUTION            India and Sri Lanka STATUS: Not rare HABITAT:  HABITS IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES Wing Span: 30-42 mm. Male : Upperside brown, posterior half of fore wing and middle of hind wing glossed with smalt-blue; fore wing with a not very prominent subapical reddish patch, in which are two brown spots; abdominal margin pale testaceous; anal lobe reddish testaceous. Female : Brown; fore wing with large triangular maculated red patch; hind wing with reddish discal streak and anal lobe. Underside dull pale testaceous; transverse spots and bands very pale, being defined only by outer margins, each traversed by a silver streak; no marginal row of dots. SIMILAR SPECIES    Most nearly ...