''Hypolycaena erylus'', the common tit,
is a small but striking
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 ...
and
South-East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
that belongs to the
lycaenids or blues family. The species was
first described by
Jean-Baptiste Godart
Jean-Baptiste Godart (25 November 1775 – 27 July 1825) was a French entomologist.
Born at Origny, Godart became impassioned by butterflies in his youth. He was charged by Pierre André Latreille (1762-1833) with writing the article on th ...
in 1823.
Range
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
,
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
,
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 ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, southern
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
,
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
,
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...
,
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...
,
Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
,
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
,
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 ...
,
Nias
Nias ( id, Pulau Nias, Nias language: ''Tanö Niha'') (sometimes called Little Sumatra in English) is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago () of which the island is the centre, ...
,
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
,
Sula,
Bachan,
Halmahera
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
Hal ...
,
Obi #REDIRECT Obi {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...
,
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km.
History
The first inhabitants o ...
and
Waigeu.
Status
Common.
Not rare as per Haribal.
Description
The underside of both sexes is pale greyish brown. The underside hindwing does not have a spot in the basal area of 7. The butterfly has two tails – a 6 mm long one at V1 and a 5 mm long tail at V2. The markings include:
* a double bar at end-cell
* a regular discal line on the forewing
* a broken, less regular line on the hindwing
The male butterfly is pale blue to dark brown above, dark shining purple depending on the light. It has a black border with the upper forewing having a large black discal area of modified scales.
The female butterfly is dark brown and its hindwing has a white disconnected discal band above the tornus. The butterfly also has a white-edged tornal black spot in 2.
File:VB 059 Common Tit UN.jpg, Underside
File:VB 060 Common Tit UP.jpg, Upperside
File:Rery102.jpg, Upperside left, underside right
Subspecies
The butterfly has a number of subspecies of which one, ''H. e. himavantus'' (
Fruhstorfer), is found in mainland India while another ''H. e. andamana'' Moore is found 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 ...
.
All subspecies are:
*''H. e. erylus'' (Java)
*''H. e. pupienus''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Lombok)
*''H. e. teatus''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo)
*''H. e. himavantus''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Nepal, Sikkim to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, southern Yunnan)
*''H. e. andamana''
Moore, 1877 (Andamans)
*''H. e. syphax''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Nias)
*''H. e. gamatius''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Sulawesi) (= ''H. e. pigres''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Obi))
*''H. e. tmolus''
C. Felder & R. Felder, 1862 (Philippines)
*''H. e. orsiphantus''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Philippines: Basilan)
*''H. e. aimnestus''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Palawan)
*''H. e. georgius''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Sula)
*''H. e. thyrius''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Bachan, Halmahera)
*''H. e. moutoni''
Ribbe
*''H. e. figulus''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Waigeu)
*''H. e. erna''
Kalis, 1933 (Bismarck Archipelago)
Habits
The butterfly is abundant at low elevations. Males are known to cluster at damp patches while the females are rarely seen.
Food plants
Recorded on ''
Meyna pubescens'' in India.
Gallery
File:Hypolycaena erylus gamatius male.JPG, ''H. e. gamatius'' male
File:Hypolycaena erylus gamatius female.JPG, ''H. e. gamatius'' female
File:Hypolycaena erylus thyrius male.JPG, ''H. e. thyrius'' male
File:Hypolycaena erylus thyrius female.JPG, ''H. e. thyrius'' female
File:Hypolycaena erylus ssp male.JPG, Unknown male subspecies
File:Hypolycaena erylus ssp female.JPG, Unknown female subspecies
File:Hypolycaena erylus ssp2 female.JPG, Unknown female subspecies
See also
*
List of butterflies of India
The following is a list of the butterflies of India.
India has extremely diverse terrain, climate and vegetation, which comprises extremes of heat cold, desert and jungle, of low-lying plains and the highest mountains, of dryness and dampness, i ...
*
List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)
This is a list of the butterflies of India belonging to the family Lycaenidae and an index to the species articles. This forms part of the full List of butterflies of India.
This list is based on Evans (1932) and includes 318 species bel ...
Cited references
References
*
*
*
*
{{Taxonbar , from=Q5959784
Butterflies of Asia
Hypolycaenini
Butterflies of Singapore
Butterflies of Borneo