''Curetis brunnea'' is a species of

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 ...

in the

lycaenid Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

subfamily

Curetinae ''Curetis'', the sunbeams, is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae) from Southeast Asia. They are presently the only genus in the subfamily Curetinae. Selected species * '' Curetis acuta'' - angled sunbeam ** ''Curetis acuta formos ...

. It was described by

Alfred Ernest Wileman Alfred Ernest Wileman (27 February 1860 – 15 February 1929) was a British diplomat and entomologist. Wileman was appointed as the British Vice Consul for the Japanese city of Hakodate and surrounding prefectures in April 1901, and moved to be c ...

in 1909 as ''Curetis acuta''

var. In botanical nomenclature, variety (abbreviated var.; in la, varietas) is a taxonomic rank below that of species and subspecies, but above that of form. As such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name. It is sometimes recommended that the ...

''brunnea''.

Distribution

The type locality of ''Curetis brunnea'' is on

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. The species is also distributed from the eastern coast of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

Appearance

The species was described by Wileman as being almost entirely brown, with a faint red area that may be visible on the hindwings, and having an expanse of 46 to 48 mm.

Notes and references

Curetis Butterflies of Asia Butterflies described in 1909 {{Lycaenidae-stub