''Doleschallia bisaltide'', the autumn leaf, is a

nymphalid The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

butterfly found in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

Southeast 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 mainlan ...

, and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

. In Australia it is also known as the leafwing.

Description

The larvae are black, with two rows of dorsal white spots. Head with a pair of branched spines; rest of the segments with a dorsal and a lateral row of blue branched spines on each side. They feed on ''

Artocarpus ''Artocarpus'' is a genus of approximately 60 trees and shrubs of Southeast Asian and Pacific origin, belonging to the mulberry family, Moraceae. Most species of ''Artocarpus'' are restricted to Southeast Asia; a few cultivated species are more w ...

'', '' Pseuderanthemum'', ''

Calycanthus ''Calycanthus'', called sweetshrub, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Calycanthaceae. The genus includes two to four species depending on taxonomic interpretation; three are accepted by most 21st century sources. Description ''Calyca ...

'', '' Ruellia'', '' Girardina'', '' Strobilanthus'' and '' Graptophyllum''. The pupae are yellowish with numerous black spots; constricted in the middle; head produced into two points. There are several subspecies under ''Doleschallia bisaltide'': *''Doleschallia bisaltide andamanensis'' Fruhstorfer, 1899 ::This subspecies closely resembles the Indian form, but differs in the oblique yellow band on the upperside of the forewing, which is broader and extends from the middle of the costal margin uninterruptedly to interspace 4, though it is preapically constricted. On the upperside of the hindwing there is an inner as well as an outer conspicuous subterminal narrow-black band. On the underside, this subspecies is as variable as the typical form, but the ground colour in many specimens (presumably wet-season broods) is of a richer, almost metallic green, with the basal snow-white spots defined with black lines; the

ocelli A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ...

in interspaces 2 and 5 seem also to be more clearly defined than in the Indian form. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in ''malabarica''. ::This subspecies has been seen in the South Andaman (Chidiyatapu),

Car Nicobar Car Nicobar ( in Car language) is the northernmost of the Nicobar Islands. It is also one of three local administrative divisions of the Indian district of Nicobar, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Annual ra ...

, Central Nicobars and at

Great Nicobar Great Nicobar is the southernmost and largest of the Nicobar Islands of India, north of Sumatra. History The Nicobar Island has been well known to Indian mariners since the time of the seafaring Cholas https://www.britannica.com/place/Nicoba ...

. They are attracted to the flowers of ''

Ligustrum glomeratum ''Ligustrum glomeratum'' is a plant in the family Oleaceae. The specific epithet ''glomeratum'' means "gathered closely", referring to the flowers. Description ''Ligustrum glomeratum'' grows as a shrub or small tree up to tall. The twigs are pa ...

'' and larvae have been discovered on '' Pseuderanthemum album'' (Acanthaceae).Veenakumari, K. and Prashanth Mohanraj 1997. Rediscovery of ''Lethe europa tamuna'' with notes on other threatened butterflies from the Andamans and Nicobar Islands. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 51(3):273-27
PDF
/ref> *''Doleschallia bisaltide apameia'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 ::Found in the

Obi Islands The Obi Islands (also known as Ombirah, Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Obi'') are a group of 42 islands in the Indonesian province of North Maluku, north of Buru and Ceram, and south of Halmahera. With a total area of 3,048.08 km2, they had a pop ...

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide australis'' C. & R. Felder, 1867 ::The leafwing. Found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Torres Strait Islands The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...

, and northeastern Australia. *''Doleschallia bisaltide bougainvillensis'' Strand, 1920 ::Found in Bougainville. *''Doleschallia bisaltide cethega'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 ::Found in Sulawesi. *''Doleschallia bisaltide ceylonica'' Fruhstorfer, 1903 ::The Ceylon autumn leaf. Found in Sri Lanka. *''Doleschallia bisaltide continentalis'' Fruhstorfer, 1899 ::Found in southern China,

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. ''Doleschallia bisaltide siamensis'' is a synonym. *''Doleschallia bisaltide denisi'' Viette, 1950 ::Found in New Caledonia and the

Loyalty Islands The Loyalty Islands Province (French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide gurelca'' Grose-Smith & Kirby, 1893 ::Found in the Bismarck Archipelago and the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

*''Doleschallia bisaltide herrichi'' Butler, 1876 ::Found in

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide indica'' Moore, 1899 ::The Himalayan autumn leaf. Found in northern

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

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide karabachica'' Tytler, 1940 *''Doleschallia bisaltide malabarica'' Fruhstorfer, 1899 ::Male's and female's underside yellowish brown, paling anteriorly to rich golden yellow on the forewing, shading anteriorly into dusky brown on the hindwing. Forewing: the apical half black, following a line from vein 12 opposite the discocellulars, passing through apex of cell, obliquely across middle of interspace 3 and curving down to tornus; a black spot near apex of cell coalescing with the inner margin of 1he black colour; a short, very oblique, broad golden-yellow band, broader in the female than in the male, from middle of costal margin to interspace 5; a spot beyond in line with it in interspace 4; two, sometimes three, minute, preapical white specks; the cilia fulvous (tawny), touched with white, anteriorly. Hindwing uniform; the costal margin broadly as noted above, a subterminal narrow band and narrower terminal line posteriorly, dusky black; a postdiscal black spot in interspaces 2 and 5 respectively; the cilia fulvous. Autumnleaf Doleschallia bisaltide malabarica (4152536762)

Autumnleaf Doleschallia bisaltide malabarica (4152536762)

::Underside very variable, closely resembling a dry leaf. No two specimens are ever alike. The ground colour varies from reddish to dark greenish brown with irrorations (speckles) of greyish and black scales; apex of the forewing and the terminal margin posteriorly of the hindwing more or less lilacine; forewings and hindwings crossed by a dark narrow discal fascia, generally bordered on the inner side by a greyish line; this fascia bent inwards at right angles above vein 6 of the forewing and in most specimens, bordered internally by a diffuse pale patch and externally by an oblique whitish mark, beyond which is a subcostal white spot, followed by a transverse sinuous postdiscal series of obscure ocelli crossing both wings, each ocellus centred by a minute dot, white on the fore, black on the hindwing. In the male there are generally, but not invariably, a number of whitish spots on the basal areas of both wings. Antennae blackish brown, ochraceous at apex; head, thorax and abdomen dark fulvous brown; beneath, the palpi white, the thorax and abdomen pale brown. Wingspan is about . Found from Sikkim, S. India, Ceylon, Assam, Myanmar and Tenasserim. *''Doleschallia bisaltide menexema'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 ::Found in the

Treasury Islands Treasury Islands () are a small group of islands a few kilometres to the south of Bougainville and from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the country of Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries ...

Shortlands Shortlands is a suburb of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It has been part of Greater London since 1965, and was previously part of the historic county of Kent. It is located between Beckenham and Bromley, to t ...

, Guadalcanal, and possibly the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide merguiana'' Evans, 1924 *''Doleschallia bisaltide montrouzieri'' Butler, 1876 ::Found in

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide nasica'' Fruhstorfer, 1907 ::Found in Waigeu. *''Doleschallia bisaltide nigromarginata'' Joicey & Noakes, 1915 ::Found in

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals. The large ...

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide tualensis'' Fruhstorfer, 1899 ::Found in

Kai Island The Kai Islands (also Kei Islands) of Indonesia are a group of islands in the southeastern part of the Maluku Islands, located in the province of Maluku. The Moluccas have been known as the Spice Islands due to regionally specific plants such ...

*''Doleschallia bisaltide philippensis'' Fruhstorfer, 1899 ::Found in the

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 ...

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide pratipa'' C. & R. Felder, 1860 ::Found in peninsular

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 b ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, and

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide rennellensis'' Howarth, 1962 ::Found in Rennell and the Bellona Islands. *''Doleschallia bisaltide scapus'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 ::Found in

and

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide sciron'' Godman & Salvin, 1888 ::Found in the

, and Guadalcanal. *''Doleschallia bisaltide tenimberensis'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 ::Found in

. *''Doleschallia bisaltide tualensis'' Fruhstorfer, 1899 ::Found in

References

External links

Sri Lanka Wild Life Information Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3033886 Kallimini Butterflies of Asia Butterflies described in 1777 Butterflies of Singapore Taxa named by Pieter Cramer