Nacaduba hermus
Encyclopedia
The Pale Four-line Blue Nacaduba hermus is a species of lycaenid
butterfly found in South Asia
.
The underside is hoary brown. On the underside of the fore wing there are transverse bands of the ground-colour defined by very fine white lines as follows:
each row of the subterminal series of spots is obscurely bordered inwardly and outwardly with whitish.
The hindwing has transverse bands of the ground-colour enclosed and defined as on the fore wing by short slender lunular lines of white as follows:
Interspace 1 has 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.
; Sri Lanka
; Assam; Myanmar
(Tenasserim); the Andamans.
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
butterfly found in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
.
Male
The upperside of the male is dark purplish brown. The fore and hindwings have a black ante-ciliary lines. The hindwing has two black spots that are nearly equal, one in interspace 1 and the other in interspace 2. The spots have a silvery white edge on the outerside. The tail is black tipped with white.The underside is hoary brown. On the underside of the fore wing there are transverse bands of the ground-colour defined by very fine white 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.
The hindwing has 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, and abruptly turned upward and terminating on the dorsal margin;
- a discal band very irregular and sinuate from vein 8 to vein l, then 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 has 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.
Female
The female has the upperside dull leaden blue. The fore and hind wings have ante-ciliary 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.Distribution
Sikkim; the Western GhatsWestern Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
; Sri Lanka
Sri 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...
; Assam; 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....
(Tenasserim); the Andamans.