''Taraka hamada'', the forest Pierrot, is a small species of butterfly found in Asia, that belongs to the lycaenids (or blues) family.

Description

The uppersides of its wings are very pale brown in color, somewhat paler in the female, uniform, with the black spots of the underside faintly apparent by transparency. The undersides are white, with round black spots and markings as follows: forewing: a spot at base of wing followed in transverse order by two spots, again two spots, then an irregular row of five spots that crosses near the apex of cell, the lower two coalescent, beyond that another curved row of five spots, two of which are in interspace 3, then a complete curved series of outwardly-pointed and a terminal series of inwardly-pointed similar spots. The spots of the last series cross a well-marked but very slender anteciliary black line, and thus cause the white cilia to the wing to be alternated with black. Hindwing: similarly crossed by five rows, all of which are more or less curved outwards, of black spots, followed by a slender uninterrupted anteciliary black line. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brown, shafts of the antennae ringed with white, apex of club ochraceous; beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen white. The butterfly shows two extreme forms in Sikkim, one extreme form which is almost completely black and the other having costa and outer margin black. The black spots from the underside are seen through the upper forewings of both sexes.

Range

The forest Pierrot is found in various regions of Asia; the butterfly occurs in India from Sikkim to Assam and onto Myanmar and south to the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The butterfly also occurs in west and central China, Yunnan, Peninsular Malaysia,

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

, Borneo, Java, Japan, and possibly

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

and Lombok.Markku Savela's website on Lepidopter
Page on genus ''Taraka''.
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Habitat

A weak flying butterfly, found in forests at lower elevations.

Status

Not rare in Sikkim from April to December.

References

General reading

* * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1356980 Miletinae Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Borneo Butterflies of Java Taxa named by Herbert Druce