Caprona ransonnetti

Golden Angle
Golden Angle WSF
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Caprona
Species:	C. ransonnetti
Binomial name
Caprona ransonnetti (Felder, 1868)
Synonyms
Abaratha ransonnetti

Caprona ransonnetti, commonly known as the Golden Angle, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae.

Range

Occurs Ceylon (Hutchison, Wade, Mackwood) ; Orissa, (Taylor) ; Nilgiris, (Hampson).^[1]

Description

Golden angle

See glossary for terms used.

Watson (1891) gives a detailed description:

"Upperside fuliginous ochreous-brown. Male ; forewing with three small semi-transparent white spots before the apex (and sometimes one or two very minute spots obliquely below them), two spots within end of the cell, a slender spot between the upper and middle median veins, a larger spot between the latter vein and submedian, and followed below it by two small obliquely disposed spots ; a marginal double row of pale indistinct small lunules ; hindwing with a broad medial discal macular pale ochreous band traversed by brown veins and a spot within end of the cell, the outer discal area suffused with grey-brown. Cilia alternated with white. Female ; forewing with the spots and marginal lunules, and the macular band on hindwing more prominent, the latter also more distinctly bordered with grey. Underside : forewing paler brown ; the basal area greyish-white, the spots with clouded black outer borders ; hindwing greyish-white, the outer margin only being brown, traversed by a curved discal series of small blackish spots."^[1]

The dry-season form which has been named A. taylorii by de Niceville differs in being ochreous not dark brown above, and in having the disc of the hindwing unmarked with a group of ochreous spots and streaks. A similar variation has been noted by Mr. de Niceville in C. tissa, a not very distantly allied species, and in both cases it is the dry-season form which is the paler.

—E.Y. Watson

References