Miletus symethus
Encyclopedia
The Great Brownie is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues
family.
in India
, Myanmar
Malaya
, Sumatra
and the Philippines
.
The male has the upperside of wings dusky brownish-black. The groundcolour of the forewings darker, almost pure black in fresh specimens, on the apical third of the wing; a short streak in the middle of interspace 1, a more outwardly produced similar streak in interspace 2, basal halves of interspaces 3 and 4, the lower apex of the discoidal cell and the extreme base of interspace 5, white, all forming a median conspicuous irregular white patch on the wing, narrowly traversed by the veins which are greyish-brown. Hind wing: more uniform, slightly darker on its anterior half. Underside: light brown with an ochraceous tint. Fore wing: the median white patch as on the upperside but larger, its margins less clearly defined, continued posteriorly to the dorsal margin; obscure catenulated, incomplete, transverse, white-margined narrow bands, two at base and two or three very short ones above the white median patch on the costal area, from between the outer two of these latter a transverse, zigzag, very slender, somewhat obscure white line crosses the anterior portion of the wing to vein 4; lastly a pre-tornal quadrate brown spot near apex of interspace 1a and an obscure sub-terminal transverse series of slightly lunular small brown spots; the ground-colour terminally paler and more ochraceous than on the inner portions of the wing. Hind wing: crossed by very obscure sinuous brown and white slender lines, that on the costal area form very short, obsolescent, catenulated narrow brown bands; a subterminal series of brown slender lunules, sometimes obsolete. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brown; beneath : paler, the palpi and thorax more or less white.
The female has the upperside forewings of a dark brown colour; base shaded with greyish brown; the white median patch as in the male, but very much larger, its upper margin irregularly curved; it is spread over the anterior two-thirds of the cell, extends beyond it into the bases of interspaces 4, 5 and 6, and below the cell it occupies the basal four-fifths of interspaces 1 and 2.Hind wing: costal margin broadly dark brownish; wing posteriorly from below the subcostal vein and vein 6a beautiful pale bluish-grey; a broad whitish streak beyond the cell not reaching the termen. Underside, fore wing: the median white patch as on the upperside but larger, extending to the dorsal margin and base of cell; base of wing, costal margin above the sub-costal vein and conjoined upper discal obliquely-placed patch greyish brown; apex of wing whitish, termen between veins 1 and 6 broadly stained with rusty; a conspicuous rusty pretornal spot; some obscure white-margined spots at base of cell and along costa, and a transverse sub-terminal series of black dots. Hind wing: pale ochraceous white, darkening to rusty brown towards the middle of the termen; a subbasal, a median and a discal transverse incomplete macular brown band, each spot in the bands margined on the inner and outer sides by slender black lines; finally a subterminal transverse series of short slender black threads. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male.
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family.
Range
It is found in Naga hillsNaga hills
Naga hills, reaching a height of around 3825 metres, lie on the border of India and Burma . These hills are part of a complex mountain system, and the parts of the mountain ranges inside the Indian state of Nagaland and the Burmese region of Sagaing are called the Naga Hills.In British India, the...
in 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...
, 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....
Malaya
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Description
A small butterfly, 40 to 50mm in wingspan, the largest of the genus. The upper forewing in both sexes has a broad white discal band which extends right up to dorsum, the upper edge of which is sharply angled at vein 3. The upper hindwing has a pale discal streak.Technical description
- See glossaryGlossary of Lepidopteran termsThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....
for terms used
The male has the upperside of wings dusky brownish-black. The groundcolour of the forewings darker, almost pure black in fresh specimens, on the apical third of the wing; a short streak in the middle of interspace 1, a more outwardly produced similar streak in interspace 2, basal halves of interspaces 3 and 4, the lower apex of the discoidal cell and the extreme base of interspace 5, white, all forming a median conspicuous irregular white patch on the wing, narrowly traversed by the veins which are greyish-brown. Hind wing: more uniform, slightly darker on its anterior half. Underside: light brown with an ochraceous tint. Fore wing: the median white patch as on the upperside but larger, its margins less clearly defined, continued posteriorly to the dorsal margin; obscure catenulated, incomplete, transverse, white-margined narrow bands, two at base and two or three very short ones above the white median patch on the costal area, from between the outer two of these latter a transverse, zigzag, very slender, somewhat obscure white line crosses the anterior portion of the wing to vein 4; lastly a pre-tornal quadrate brown spot near apex of interspace 1a and an obscure sub-terminal transverse series of slightly lunular small brown spots; the ground-colour terminally paler and more ochraceous than on the inner portions of the wing. Hind wing: crossed by very obscure sinuous brown and white slender lines, that on the costal area form very short, obsolescent, catenulated narrow brown bands; a subterminal series of brown slender lunules, sometimes obsolete. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brown; beneath : paler, the palpi and thorax more or less white.
The female has the upperside forewings of a dark brown colour; base shaded with greyish brown; the white median patch as in the male, but very much larger, its upper margin irregularly curved; it is spread over the anterior two-thirds of the cell, extends beyond it into the bases of interspaces 4, 5 and 6, and below the cell it occupies the basal four-fifths of interspaces 1 and 2.Hind wing: costal margin broadly dark brownish; wing posteriorly from below the subcostal vein and vein 6a beautiful pale bluish-grey; a broad whitish streak beyond the cell not reaching the termen. Underside, fore wing: the median white patch as on the upperside but larger, extending to the dorsal margin and base of cell; base of wing, costal margin above the sub-costal vein and conjoined upper discal obliquely-placed patch greyish brown; apex of wing whitish, termen between veins 1 and 6 broadly stained with rusty; a conspicuous rusty pretornal spot; some obscure white-margined spots at base of cell and along costa, and a transverse sub-terminal series of black dots. Hind wing: pale ochraceous white, darkening to rusty brown towards the middle of the termen; a subbasal, a median and a discal transverse incomplete macular brown band, each spot in the bands margined on the inner and outer sides by slender black lines; finally a subterminal transverse series of short slender black threads. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male.
See also
- LycaenidaeLycaenidaeThe Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
- List of butterflies of India
- List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)
External links
- Asahi Correctly determined photos of Miletus symethus