''Notocrypta curvifascia'', the restricted demon,
[ is a ]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 ...
belonging to the family Hesperiidae
Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...
. ''N. curvifascia'' is commonly found in many regions of temperate and tropical East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
, 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 ...
, and the Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
.
Among butterflies, it is relatively small, at approximately 4 cm long (adult). Its wings are dark brown to black, with a white eyespot near the trailing end.
Host plants
The larval host plants include members of the Zingiberaceae
Zingiberaceae () or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical Af ...
and Musaceae
Musaceae is a family of flowering plants composed of three genera with about 91 known species, placed in the order Zingiberales. The family is native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. The plants have a large herbaceous growth habit with leaves ...
families such as '' Alpinia japonica'', ''Alpinia zerumbet
''Alpinia zerumbet'', commonly known as shell ginger, is a perennial species of ginger native to East Asia. They can grow up to tall and bear colorful funnel-shaped flowers. They are grown as ornamentals and their leaves are used in cuisine an ...
'', '' Curcuma decipiens'', '' Costus speciosus'',[Kunte, K. 2006. Additions to the known larval host plants of Indian butterflies. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 103(1):119-121] ''Curcuma longa
Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asi ...
'', '' Globba marantina'', '' Musa acuminata × balbisiana'', '' Zingiber casumunar'', ''Zingiber odoriferum
The genus ''Zingiber'' is native to Southeast Asia especially in Thailand, China, the Indian Subcontinent, and New Guinea. It contains the true gingers, plants grown the world over for their culinary value. The most well known are '' Z. officina ...
'', ''Zingiber officinale
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...
''. Other plants include ''Hedychium
''Hedychium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, native to lightly wooded habitats in Asia. There are approximately 70-80 known species, native to India, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar. Some species have become wi ...
'' species[ and '']Zingiber zerumbet
The genus ''Zingiber'' is native to Southeast Asia especially in Thailand, China, the Indian Subcontinent, and New Guinea. It contains the true gingers, plants grown the world over for their culinary value. The most well known are '' Z. officina ...
''.
References
Fauna of Pakistan
Butterflies of Asia
c
Butterflies of Indochina
{{hesperiinae-stub