''Arhopala alesia'', the pallid oakblue, (sometimes in ''

Amblypodia ''Amblypodia'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Several species formerly placed here are now in ''Arhopala'' and ''Flos'', although this placement is not necessarily definite. The remaining species of ''Amblypodia'' are: * '' ...

'') is a small

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

found in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.

Description

The

forewing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwin ...

length is about 18mm.

Subspecies

At least 5

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are listed: * ''A. a. alesia'' * ''A. a. wimberleyi'' (de Nicéville, 1887) * ''A. a. sacharja'' Fruhstorfer, 1914 * ''A. a. mio'' (Hayashi, 1981) * ''A. a. soloni'' M. & T. Okano, 1995

Range

The butterfly occurs in India in the

Andamans The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between the ...

and from Dawnas to southern

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. The nominotypical subspecies is distributed on

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac. Marinduque lies be ...

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

& Tawitawi Islands. The subspecies ''soloni'' is on

Leyte Island Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

. The subspecies ''mio'' is found on

Negros Island Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

Status

William Harry Evans Brigadier William Harry Evans Order of the Star of India, CSI Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Distinguished Service Order, DSO (born 22 July 1876 in Shillong – died 13 November 1956, Church Whitfield ) was a lepidopterist and British Army of ...

described the species as rare in 1932.

Cited references

References