Nacaduba hermus

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Pale Four-line Blue

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
(unranked)	Rhopalocera
Superfamily:	Papilionoidea
Family:	Lycaenidae
Subfamily:	Polyommatinae
Tribe:	Polyommatini
Genus:	Nacaduba
Species:	N. hermus

Binomial name

Nacaduba hermus
Felder, 1860

The Pale Four-line Blue Nacaduba hermus is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in South Asia.

[edit] Description

See glossary for terminology used

Male upperside: dark purplish-brown. Fore and hind wings : slender. black anticiliary lines ; hind wing in addition with two black subequal subterminal spots, one in interspace 1, the other in interspace 2, both these spots edged outwardly by a silvery white thread; tail black tipped with white. Underside: hoary brown. Fore wing: transverse bands of the ground-colour defined by very slender, short, white lunular lines as follows:—a band across middle of cell extended from the subcostal vein to vein 1, a short band defining and enclosing the discocellulars and a bisinuate discal band extended from veins 1 to 7; succeeding these are an inner and an outer subterminal series of transversely elongate spots somewhat darker than the ground-colour and a slender black anticiliary line ; each row of the subterminal series of spots is obscurely bordered inwardly and outwardly with whitish. Hind wing: transverse bands of the ground-colour enclosed and defined as on the fore wing by short slender lunular lines of white as follows:—a subbasal band across cell, another at apex of cell extended from vein 8 to vein 1, thence abruptly contorted upward and terminating on the dorsal margin; a discal band very irregular and sinuate from vein 8 to vein l, thence bent upwards to dorsum; beyond these an inner and an outer subterminal series of white lunules, the inner series obscure, of the outer series the lunules in interspaces 1, 2, and 3 very prominent; interspace 1 with two minute geminate black subterminal spots, interspace 2 with one large round black similar spot crowned inwardly with ochraceous and irrorated outwardly with a few metallic blue scales; a very slender terminal white line not extended to the apex and an anticiliary dark line. Antennae black, shafts minutely ringed with white; head, thorax, and abdomen dark brown; beneath: the palpi fringed with black hairs, thorax fuscous, abdomen dull white.^[1]

Female upperside: dull leaden blue. Fore and hind wings: anticiliary slender black lines as in the male, within which on the fore wing is an obscure transverse subterminal series of black spots; on the hind wing a very slender terminal white line, a subterminal row of black spots and a postdiscal series of white lunules, the spots decreasing in size and the lunules obsolescent anteriorly. Underside: ground-colour paler than the markings, more obscure but identical with those of the male. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male but all paler in colour. ^[1]