Pycnophallium elna

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Elbowed Pierrot
at Jairampur, Arunachal Pradesh, India
at Jairampur, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Pycnophallium
Species: 'P. elna
Binomial name
Pycnophallium elna
(Hewitson 1876)
Synonyms

Castalius elna Frühstorfer. [1]
Caleta elna [2]

The Elbowed Pierrot (Pycnophallium elna)[3] is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues family.

Contents

[edit] Description

For a key to the terms used see Lepidopteran glossary

Upperside: black; a medial broad oblique white band across both fore and hind wings broadening on the latter, on the fore wing it extends further towards the costa in the female than in the male and in most specimens, both male and female, it is slightly produced outwards above vein 3. Underside: white with the following black markings:—a very broad band, broader than in any of the other forms, from base of hind wing produced obliquely across the fore wing as far as the discocellular veinlets, thence bent at right angles and extended to the costal margin; beyond this the discal markings on both fore and hind wings much as in C. roxus, but the terminal markings narrow and more or less obsolescent, the apex of the fore wing however, is more broadly black, while the subterminal line of linear white spots on the same wing and the transverse subterminal series of black lunules on the hind wing are more or less obsolescent. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black ; beneath : the shafts of the antennae speckled with white, the palpi, thorax and abdomen with a longi-tudiual medial white line, the sides of the abdomen barred with white.[4]

Upperside.Museum specimen.Malaya
Upperside.Museum specimen.Malaya

[edit] Taxonomy

The butterfly is also classified as Caleta elna [2].

[edit] Range

The butterfly occurs in India from Orissa, Sikkim to Assam Andamans [1] and onto Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Hainan, southern Yunnan. The butterfly extends southwards to Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Karimata, Sumatra, Bangka and Palawan.[2]


Jairampur
Merudemilli
Distribution records of Pycnophallium elna

[edit] Cited references

  1. ^ a b Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
  2. ^ a b c Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera on Caleta genus.
  3. ^ Card for elna in LepIndex. Accessed 16 Jun 2007.
  4. ^ Bingham, C. T. 1907. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 2

[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.
  • Bingham, C. T. (1907) Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 2.
  • Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera [1].

[edit] See also

[edit] External Links

  • Asahi Correctly determined photos of Caleta elna (synonym) specimens from the Philippines.