Hypolycaena erylus

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Common Tit

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Hypolycaena
Species: H. erylus
Binomial name
Hypolycaena erylus
(Godart, 1823)

The Common Tit (Hypolycaena erylus) [1] [2] is a small but striking butterfly found in India and South East Asia [3] [4] that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues family.

Contents

[edit] Range

Nepal, Sikkim - Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, South Yunnan, Java, Lombok, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Andamans, Nias, Sulawesi, Philippines, Sula, Bachan, Halmahera, Obi, Bismarck Archipelago and Waigeu.[1]

[edit] Status

Common[3][4]. Not Rare as per Haribal[5].

[edit] Description

The underside of both sexes is pale greyish brown. The underside hindwing does not have a spot in the basal area of 7. The butterfly has two tails - a 6mm long one at V1 and a 5mm long tail at V2. The markings include [5].-

  • a double bar at end-cell.
  • a regular discal line on the forewing.
  • a broken, less regular line on the hindwing.

The male butterfly is pale blue to dark brown above, dark shining purple depending on the light. It has a black border with the upper forewing having a large black discal area of modified scales.[5]

The female butterfly is dark brown and its hindwing has a white disconnected discal band above the tornus. The butterfly also has a white-edged tornal black spot in 2.[5]

Underside

Upperside

Upperside left,underside right.From Seitz

[edit] Taxonomy

The butterfly has a number of subspecies of which one, Hypolycaena erylus himavantus (Fruhstorfer), is found in mainland India while another H. erylus andamana Moore is found in the Andamans.[5]

[edit] Habits

The butterfly is abundant at low elevations. Males are known to cluster at damp patches while the females are rarely seen.[5]

[edit] Lifehistory

Recorded on Meyna pubescens in India.[5]

[edit] Cited references

  1. ^ a b Page on Marrku Savela's site for genus Hypolycaena (Lycaenidae).
  2. ^ Card for species erylus in LepIndex. Accessed 05 December 2006.
  3. ^ a b Evans,W.H.(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies, ser no H80.3, pg 294.
  4. ^ a b Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, pg 253-254.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim, pg 107.

[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].
  • Bingham, C. T. 1907. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 2.
  • 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] External Links

  • Asahinet Photographs of correctly determined specimens of Hypolycaena erylus from the Philippines

[edit] See also


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