Athyma perius

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Common Sergeant
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Genus: Athyma Species: A. perius
Binomial name
Athyma perius (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Common Sergeant (Athyma perius) is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution 3 Life history 4 References

[edit] Description

See glossary of Lepidopteran terms for terminology used

Black in the male and blackish brown in the female with the following white markings :—Fore wing: a clavate discoidal streak, twice divided, a cone-shaped large spot beyond ; a much curved discal macular band, the spots composing it in interspaces la, 1 and 2 broad, rectangular, in interspace 3 small, subtriangular, in interspace 4 circular or oval, in 5 and 6 elongate, shifted obliquely inwards; a post-discal sinuous line of narrow transverse spots, and a subterminal line of obscure short lunules. Hind wing: discal band of fore wing continued sub-basally across, broad and not macular, traversed only by the veins; a postdiscal macular band, inwardly margined by a series of round black dots, and a subterminal line of obscure lunules as on the fore wing. Underside golden ochraceous yellow; the white markings as on the upperside but heavily margined and defined with black; interspace 1a with sub-basal and pre-apical patches in interspace 1 of fore wing fuliginous black; postdiscal band on hind wing margined inwardly with pale blue, bearing a superposed series of black spots, the pale blue extended along the veins crossing the band ; both fore and hind wing with a prominent terminal narrow black band; the cilia white alternated with brown. Antennae black; head with a spot of golden ochraceous between the eyes; thorax with a band or two of bluish spots anteriorly and posteriorly; abdomen transversely and narrowly barred with bluish white; beneath, the palpi, thorax and abdomen pure white ; in the female the abdomen has a double lateral row of minute black dots.^[1]

[edit] Distribution

Throughout the Himalayas ; the hills of Central, Eastern and Western India : Southern India.; Burma; Tenasserim; extending to Siam and the Malay Peninsula.

[edit] Life history

Larva: Cylindrical, of equal thickness throughout its length ; head larger than the following segment, black, thickly covered with obtuse castaneous spines; body pale green ; beneath and legs castaneous, armed with a subdorsal series of long and a spiracular series of shorter spined castaneous tubercles, one in each series on each segment, those on the fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth and thirteenth segments in the subdorsal series shorter than the others, spiracles black. de Niceville)

Pupa: Brown, richly gilt, head ending in two points, thorax foliaceous. (de Niceville.)

Food-plants recorded, Glochidion lanceolatum and G. velutinum.

[edit] References