Poritia phalena

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Broad-branded Brilliant
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Poritia
Species: P. phalena
Binomial name
Poritia phalena
(Hewitson, 1874)

The Broad-branded Brilliant (Poritia phalena)[1] is a small butterfly found in India[2] and South East Asia[3]that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues family.

Contents

[edit] Range

It occurs in South Asia from Assam in India to South Myanmar[2][4]. As per Savela, the butterfly ranges from Assam, Myanmar, Peninsular Malaya, Java, Nias, Borneo and Thailand[3].

[edit] Status

Very Rare.[2][4].

[edit] Description

A small butterfly, 28 to 34 mm in wingspan. The male is black above with brilliant greenish-blue streaks and spots, while the female is dark brown above with a white circular spot in the discal region of the forewing. Below, there are no bands of linked spots[4].

[edit] Taxonomy

The butterfly was earlier[2] and continues[3] to be classified by some authorities as Simiskina phalena (Hewitson, 1874). The subspecies of butterfly that occurs in South Asia is[2] :-

[edit] Cited references

  1. ^ Card for species phalena in LepIndex. Accessed 04 December 2006.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Evans,W.H.(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies, ser no H3.1, pg 209.
  3. ^ a b c d e Page on Marrku Savela's site for genus Simiskina (Lycaenidae).
  4. ^ a b c Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, pg 253

[edit] References

  • Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 04 December 2006].
  • Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
  • Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and their Natural History.
  • Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera [1].
  • Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.

[edit] See also