Tanaecia lepidea

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tanaecia lepidea
Tanaecia lepidea - Gray Count 29.jpg

Tanaecia lepidea

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Subfamily : Kingfishers (Limenitidinae)
Genre : Tanaecia
Type : Tanaecia lepidea
Scientific name
Tanaecia lepidea
( Butler , 1868)

Tanaecia lepidea is a butterfly ( butterflies )found in Asiafrom the family of noble butterflies (Nymphalidae) in the subfamily of kingfishers (Limenitidinae).

features

butterfly

The wingspan of the moth is 65 to 75 millimeters. There is no sexual dimorphism between the sexes , as males and females have the same drawing elements. All wings show a dark brown base color on the upper side. Near the front edge of the forewings, ring and kidney flaw-like signs stand out , which are bordered by thin black-brown lines. The submarginal region is creamy white, in fresh butterflies it is silvery-gray, as is the submarginal and post-disk region on the upper side of the hind wing. The undersides of the wings show a red-brown, yellow-brown and whitish pattern in both sexes, on which the translucent black flawed borders stand out.

Caterpillar, pupa

The caterpillars are green in color and up to 40 mm long. The topline is resolved in pink, centered blue spots. The entire surface of the body is provided with thorns from which long stinging hairs extend. It differs from Euthalia aconthea by hexagonal white blemishes with a central blue point on its back.

The approximately 18 mm long doll has an irregular, curved shape that ends in two points at the lower end. It is green in color and has more golden spots than Euthalia aconthea . It is attached to twigs, trunks or leaves as a falling doll with a webbing anchorage. Shortly before the moths hatch, their drawing features already shine through the pupa shell.

  • Wing underside

  • Caterpillar

  • Doll
    front view

  • Doll
    side view

  • Doll rear view
    before hatching

Similar species

  • Tanaecia julii ( Lesson, 1837 ) has a broad, light border only on the hind wings.
  • Euthalia aconthea ( Hewitson 1874) The male has a very similar drawing, but the wide, light border is missing.

Distribution, subspecies and habitat

The species occurs in India , Thailand , Malaysia , Nepal , Myanmar , Vietnam , Cambodia and in southern China . Nine subspecies are currently classified in the various occurrence areas . Tanaecia lepidea primarily inhabits dense rainforests . In India, the moths occur in the lower and middle elevations in the Western Ghats and in parts of the Eastern Ghats and from Kumaon eastwards in clear places on bodies of water and in deciduous forests.

Way of life

The moths suckle on tree sap, rotting fruit, damp places in the earth to absorb minerals, and occasionally on bird droppings. They sun themselves with their wings spread flat on mossy rocks and fallen tree trunks on river beds. In flight, they only flap their wings slowly from time to time and glide a lot. Although they are good fliers, they never fly high or far away when foraging for food. When disturbed, they gracefully fly away through the bushes and rocks and soon sit down again. The moths can be found in India all year round, but they are less common during the monsoons . The eggs are usually laid on the underside of the food plant. The caterpillars prefer to feed on the leaves of Careya arborea , a tree belonging to the potted plant family (Lecythidaceae), and Indian rhododendron ( Melastoma malabathricum ), from the family of the black-mouthed plants (Melastomataceae), both of which are common in mixed forests.

Systematics

The species was first described as Adolias lepidea by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1868 using butterflies from North India. He separated it from Tanaecia cocytus ( Fabricius , 1787), then Adolias cocytus . The following subspecies are known.

  • T. l. lepidea ( Butler ), 1868, in north-east India ( Sikkim , Assam) and Nepal
  • T. l. miyana ( Fruhstorfer ), 1913, in the western and eastern Ghats
  • T. l. sthavara ( Fruhstorfer ), 1913, in the East Indies on the border with Burma, Burma, Northern Thailand
  • T. l. adustata ( Fruhstorfer ), 1913, Assam
  • T. l. mirditta ( Fruhstorfer ), 1913, South Vietnam
  • T. l. cognata ( Moore , [1859]), Thailand , South Yunnan (China)
  • T. l. flaminia ( Fruhstorfer ), 1905, Indochina
  • T. l. matala ( Fruhstorfer ), 1905, Malay Peninsula
  • T. l. sipora ( Corbet ), 1942 Mentawai Islands

Synonyms

  • Adolias lepidea, butler
  • Euthalia lepidea, de Nicéville
  • Cynitia lepidea, Moore

literature

  • Krushnamegh Kunte: Butterflies of Peninsular India . In: Madhav Gadgil (ed.): India - a lifescape . 2000, ISBN 81-7371-354-5 , pp. 129 f .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b India Biodiversity Portal Tanaecia lepidea Butler, 1868
  2. ↑ a b c d Krushnamegh Kunte: Butterflies of Peninsular India . In: Madhav Gadgil (ed.): India - a lifescape . 2000, ISBN 81-7371-354-5 , pp. 129 f .
  3. ↑ a b Markku Savela: Tanaecia Butler, [1869] - Distribution and subspecies. In: Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved March 7, 2016 .
  4. ↑ K. Saji, H. Ogale, SN Prashanth: Tanaecia lepidea Butler, 1868 - Gray Count. In: Butterflies of India. K. Kunte, S. Sondhi, P. Roy, v. 2.35, Indian Foundation for Butterflies, accessed January 28, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Federic Moore: Rhopalocera - Family Nymphalidae . Sub-Family Nymphalinae (continued), Groups Potamina, Euthaliina, Limenitina. In: Lepidoptera Indica . tape III . Lovell Reeve & Co., London 1896, p. 96 ( Archive.org ).

Web links

Commons : Tanaecia lepidea  - collection of images, videos and audio files