''Heliophorus epicles'', commonly known as the purple sapphire, is a species of
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 ...
or blue butterfly found in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
.
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 thes ...
in 1823.
Subspecies
The subspecies of ''Heliophorus epicles'' are:
* ''Heliophorus epicles epicles''
Fruhstorfer, 1918 – western Java
* ''Heliophorus epicles hilima''
Fruhstorfer, 1912 – eastern Java
* ''Heliophorus epicles latilimbata''
Fruhstorfer, 1908 – Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, Myanmar, Andamans, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, southern Yunnan
* ''Heliophorus epicles tweediei''
Eliot, 1963 – Peninsular Malaya
* ''Heliophorus epicles sumatrensis''
Fruhstorfer, 1908 – Sumatra
* ''Heliophorus epicles phoenicoparyphus''
Holland, 1887 – Hainan
Distribution
In India, this butterfly can only be traced in the Himalayas at 2000–7000 ft (600–2100 m). Apart from that they can be found from
Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to:
* Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India
* Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India
* Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran
* , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII
See also
...
in the Himalayas 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 ...
. They mainly inhabit in dense forest region.
Gallery
File:VB 004 PurpleSufire UP.jpg, In Uttar Pradesh, India
File:Purple Saphire Butterfly I IMG 3915.jpg, In Himachal Pradesh, India
File:Epic094.jpg, Male on left, female right
File:Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles) in Samsing, Duars, West Bengal W IMG 6320.jpg, Male at Samsing
Samsing is a small hill village and tourist spot in the Matiali (community development block), Malbazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal situated at an elevation of 3000 ft in the foothills in between Jalpaiguri and Darjeel ...
in Darjeeling district
Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its hill station and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters.
Kurseon ...
of West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, India
File:Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles) in Samsing, Duars, West Bengal W IMG 6202.jpg, Male at Samsing
File:Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles) in Samsing, Duars, West Bengal W IMG 6199.jpg, Male at Samsing
File:Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles) in Samsing, Duars, West Bengal W IMG 6169.jpg, Male at Samsing
File:Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles) in Samsing, Duars, West Bengal W IMG 6002.jpg, Male at Samsing
File:Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles)- Female at Samsing, Duars, WB W IMG 6189.jpg, Female at Samsing
File:Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles)- Female at Samsing, Duars, WB W IMG 6182.jpg, Female at Samsing
File:Purple Sapphire Cameron Highlands.jpg, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
File:Purple Sapphire 12.jpg, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
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 ...
References
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Heliophorus
Butterflies of Asia
Butterflies described in 1823
{{Lycaeninae-stub