Enispe cycnus

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Blue Caliph
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Superfamily: Papilionoidea Family: Nymphalidae Subfamily: Morphinae Genus: Enispe Species: E. cycnus
Binomial name
Enispe cycnus (Westwood, 1851)

The Blue Caliph Enispe cycnus is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in Southeast Asia.

[edit] Description

See glossary for terms used

Male has the upperside dark brown. Fore wing with a broad oblique bluish-white band beyond cell from costa to vein 4, deflected inwards below and continued by three large outwardly emarginate spots between the veins; beyond these an erect series of four more or less triangular spots of the same colour. Hind wing: basal area clothed with long hair, a subterminal curved series of obscure small light brown spots, followed by a terminal series of light brown lunular markings between the veins. Underside dark ochraceous, paling towards the terminal margins; a darker ochraceous straight discal band across both fore and hind wing from costa of fore wing to tornus of hind wing, defined inwardly and outwardly by sinuous dark ferruginous-brown lines, the basal area inside the band studded with spots and short transverse sinuous streaks of ferruginous brown, and the terminal halves of the wings with three rows of obscure dusky markings between the veins. Hind wing with a minute silvery ocellus in interspace 1 and a small black spot in interspace 5. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brown above; antennae excepted, ochraceous yellow beneath.

Upperside of female differs from the male in the fore wing as follows : five inner discal ochraceous spots and the discal band terminating in an ochraceous spot ; on the hind wing a discontinuous transverse line, followed by a postdiscal row of large hastate spots ; a subterminal series of quadrate spots and a terminal series of lunular marks between the veins bright ochraceous. Underside as in the male, but the ground-colour uniformly paler ochraceous.^[1]

Found in Assam, Bhutan and upper Myanmar.

[edit] References