Choaspes benjaminii
Encyclopedia
Choaspes benjaminii, commonly known as the Indian Awlking, is a butterfly
belonging to the family Hesperiidae.
, India
, north Myanmar
, Malaysia, Taiwan
and Japan
.
In India, the Indian Awlking ranges from the Palni Hills
, Nilgiris
and Kodagu
in the South to northern and eastern India; from Kulu to Assam
and eastwards onto Myanmar
.
The type locality is Nilgiris
, (South India
).
The Indian Awlking is 50 to 60 mm long. It is distinguished by the shining green under hindwing with black veins, orange area with black spots on the tornus.
The male butterfly is shining indigo-blue above. It has purplish hairs at the base which turn greenish with age. Cilia of hindwing and anal lobe broadly ochreous-red.
The female butterfly is dark shining green with bluish-gray hairs at the base. forewing with a broad pale cupreous brown band on posterior margin ; hindwing with a broad ochreous-red lobular patch with black macular upper border and broad central angular streak.
Thorax greyish olive above, vertex
bluish olive, abdomen brown ; palpi and thorax in front and abdomen beneath, ochreous-red.
.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
belonging to the family Hesperiidae.
Range
The Indian Awlking is found in Sri LankaSri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, north Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Malaysia, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In India, the Indian Awlking ranges from the Palni Hills
Palni Hills
The Palni Hills are a mountain range in Tamil Nadu state of South India. The Palni Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palni Hills adjoin the high Anamalai range on the west, and extend east into the plains of Tamil Nadu,...
, Nilgiris
Nilgiris (mountains)
The Nilgiri , often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above , in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India...
and Kodagu
Kodagu
Kodagu , also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least...
in the South to northern and eastern India; from Kulu to Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
and eastwards onto Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
.
The type locality is Nilgiris
Nilgiris (mountains)
The Nilgiri , often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above , in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India...
, (South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
).
Description
- For a key to the terms used see Lepidopteran glossaryGlossary of Lepidopteran termsThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....
The Indian Awlking is 50 to 60 mm long. It is distinguished by the shining green under hindwing with black veins, orange area with black spots on the tornus.
The male butterfly is shining indigo-blue above. It has purplish hairs at the base which turn greenish with age. Cilia of hindwing and anal lobe broadly ochreous-red.
The female butterfly is dark shining green with bluish-gray hairs at the base. forewing with a broad pale cupreous brown band on posterior margin ; hindwing with a broad ochreous-red lobular patch with black macular upper border and broad central angular streak.
Thorax greyish olive above, vertex
Vertex (anatomy)
In arthropod and vertebrate anatomy, the vertex refers to the upper surface of the head.In humans, the vertex is formed by four bones of the skull: the frontal bone, the two parietal bones, and the occipital bone...
bluish olive, abdomen brown ; palpi and thorax in front and abdomen beneath, ochreous-red.
Habits
The Indian Awlking is found in heavy jungles from 3500 feet to 8000 feet in the hills. It is attracted to flowers, animal and bird droppings. It frequents the shade in the daytime but is found flying in the open during the early and late hours of the day.Caterpillars
Larva with broad transverse dorsal black and yellow bands and two rows of white spots along the back ; head, two anal segments and laterally below the bands red ; face black spotted.Pupa
Pupa pinkish grey black spotted. The larva rolls itself upon the tip of the leaf on which it feeds, and when it has eaten this leaf it goes to another, and so on till it changes to pupa.Hostplants
The larva (caterpillar) has been recorded on Sabia campanulata, Meliosma pungens, Meliosma rhoifolia, Meliosma rigida, Meliosma squamulata, and BuddlejaBuddleja
Buddleja, often misspelled Buddleia but commonly known as the Butterfly Bush, is a genus of flowering plants. The generic name bestowed by Linnaeus honours the Reverend Adam Buddle , a botanist and rector in Essex, England, but who could never have seen a plant of the genus.-Classification:The...
.
See also
- CoeliadinaeCoeliadinaeCoeliadinae is a subfamily of the skipper butterfly family . With about 150 described species, this is one of several smallish skipper butterfly subfamilies. It was first proposed by William Frederick Evans in 1937....
- Hesperiidae
- List of butterflies of India (Coeliadinae)
- List of butterflies of India (Hesperiidae)