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''Chliaria othona'', the orchid tit, is a species of
The orchid tit is found in
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.
The orchid tit is one of the rare butterflies belonging to the family Lycaenidae (Kehimkar, 2008). This butterfly is fairly common in northern India, but was reported to be very rare in southern India. In India, ''Chliaria othona'' is distributed in the Western Ghats, Uttaranchal to Arunachal Pradesh, the northeast, West Bengal and the Andaman Islands. It was also reported from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The species prefers wet forests of up to 1524 meters altitude from the mean sea level and occasionally visits damp patches for mud-puddling
Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck ...
. The caterpillars of orchid tit feed on the flower buds and flowers of orchids, hence the name.
Subspecies
The subspecies of ''Chliaria othona'' are- * ''Chliaria othona othona'' Hewitson, 1865 – India, Myanmar, Thailand * ''Chliaria othona mimima'' Druce, 1895 – Borneo * ''Chliaria othona matiana'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 – Vietnam * ''Chliaria othona dendrobia'' Roepke, 1919 – Java * ''Chliaria othona semanga'' Corbet, 1940 – peninsular Malaya * ''Chliaria othona jiwabaruana'' Eliot, 1980 – Mentawai Island * ''Chliaria othona waltraudae'' (Treadaway & Nuyda,995
Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies.
* 3 June: Fujiwara no ...
Description
Distribution
The orchid tit is found in 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, northern 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 ...
, 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, ...
, Pulau Tioman
Tioman Island ( ms, Pulau Tioman) is a mukim and an island in Rompin District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is located off the east coast of the state, and is some long and wide. It has seven villages, the largest and most populous being Kampung Tek ...
and possibly 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 ...
.
In India the butterfly is found in the Western Ghats, the Himalayas from Garhwal Garhwal may refer to the following topics associated with Uttarakhand, India:
Places
*Garhwal Himalaya, a sub-range of the Himalayas
*Garhwal Kingdom, a former kingdom
* Garhwal District (British Garhwal), a former district of British India
*Gar ...
to Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
and onto 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 ...
.
In 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 ...
, the orchid tit is found up to an altitude of .
Status
The species is considered rare in southern India, but not rare in the north.Habits
The orchid tit is to be found in dense, rainy jungles. It is rarely seen except around its food plants - the flower buds ofepiphytic
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
orchids. It flies weakly and settles on flowers, leaves. It visits damp patches.
Life cycle
Caterpillar - green onisciform (woodlouse-shaped) larvae with red dorsal band and three red rippled lines on each side. The caterpillar's head is concealed and its body is covered with minute bristles. Distinct short protuberances extend from the anal segment. It feeds on the flowers of the orchid. Pupa - smooth and greenish grey, resembles those of other Lycaenidae species. It has a few white markings, with a distinctly wavy pattern on the wing covers. It is found fastened along the stem of the orchids. Larval food plants - The orchid tit's larval host plants are from the family ''Orchidaceae
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
'' from genera ''Arundina
''Arundina graminifolia'' is a species of orchid and the sole accepted species of the genus ''Arundina''. This tropical Asiatic genus extends from Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, the Ryukyu Islands, Malaysia, Singapore, China ...
'', ''Dendrobium
''Dendrobium'' is a genus of mostly epiphytic and lithophytic orchids in the family Orchidaceae. It is a very large genus, containing more than 1,800 species that are found in diverse habitats throughout much of south, east and southeast Asia, i ...
'', ''Papilionanthe
''Papilionanthe'' (abbreviated ''Ple.'') is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, southern China, and the Indian Subcontinent.
Species
*''Papilionanthe biswasiana'' (Ghose & Mukerjee) Ga ...
'', ''Phaius
''Phaius'', commonly known as swamp orchids or in Chinese as 鶴頂蘭屬/鹤顶兰属 (he ding lan shu), is a genus of forty-five species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. They are evergreen, terrestrial herbs which form c ...
'', ''Phalaenopsis
''Phalaenopsis'' (), also known as moth orchids, is a genus of about seventy species of plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are monopodial epiphytes or lithophytes with long, coarse roots, short, leafy stems and long-lasting ...
'', ''Spathoglottis
''Spathoglottis'', commonly known as purple orchids or 苞舌兰属 (bao she lan shu) is a genus of about fifty species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen terrestrial herbs with crowded pseudobulbs, a small number of leaves ...
'' and the specific species are '' Papilionanthe subulata'' and ''Spathoglottis plicata
''Spathoglottis plicata'', commonly known as the Philippine ground orchid, or large purple orchid is an evergreen, terrestrial plant with crowded pseudobulbs, three or four large, pleated leaves and up to forty resupinate, pink to purple flowers ...
'' HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/hostplants/) accessed on September 12, 2007.
See also
*Lycaenidae
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 ...
*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
* * * *External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chliaria Othona Chliaria Butterflies of Asia Butterflies described in 1865