''Parantica melaneus'', the chocolate tiger, is a 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 ...
that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the
danaid group of the
brush-footed butterflies
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 redu ...
family.
Description
Upperside:
forewing
Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwin ...
black,
Hindwing
Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwi ...
very dark purplish brown, with faintly bluish white
subhyaline markings. Underside: forewing black, the
apex
The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to:
Arts and media Fictional entities
* Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe
* Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe
*Apex ...
broadly suffused with bright chestnut-brown; hindwing bright chestnut-browvn, with a patch on the
costa
Costa may refer to:
Biology
* Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy
* Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus
* Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral
* Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...
and a portion of the disc and
termen
Termen is a municipality in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
History
Termen is first mentioned in 1201 as ''Terman''.
Geography
Termen has an area, , of . Of this area, 42.2% is used for agricultural purposes, whil ...
very much darker in most specimens. For the rest exactly resembles ''D. tytia'' in form and disposition of the subhyaline markings, but these are more clearly defined and it is proportionately smaller, the
subterminal and
terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devic ...
spots on the hindwing-generally very distinct.
Antennas
In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies a ...
black; head and
thorax
The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...
black, spotted with white; abdomen bright
ochraceous
Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
.
Expanse: 94–100 mm.
Range
The eastern
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 ...
;
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 ...
;
Burma
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 Wells explai ...
;
Tenasserim, extending to the
Malayan subregion.
See also
*
Danainae
Danainae is a subfamily of the family Nymphalidae, the brush-footed butterflies. It includes the Daniadae, or milkweed butterflies, who lay their eggs on various milkweeds on which their larvae (caterpillars) feed, as well as the clearwing butt ...
*
Nymphalidae
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 ...
*
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 (Nymphalidae)
This is a list of the butterflies of India belonging to the family Nymphalidae and an index to the species articles. This forms part of the full List of butterflies of India.
Danainae (26 spp)
See List of butterflies of India (Danainae).
Morphi ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2436730
M
Butterflies of Asia
Butterflies of Indochina
Lepidoptera of Nepal
Insects of Thailand
Taxa named by Pieter Cramer
Butterflies described in 1775