Arhopala silhetensis explained

Arhopala silhetensis, the Sylhet oakblue, (sometimes placed in Amblypodia) is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1862.

Description

Male forewing 25 mm., bright shining blue, border 1 mm.Female lighter blue, border 4 mm. Below somewhat ochreous brown, no purple wash. Above very similar to Arhopala malayica [now subspecies upper surface lilac-blue colour margined with black, the under-surface exhibits all the spots dark and distinct.The female has a broad black costal margin and distal margin], but easily discernible by the reduction of the marking beneath, where the spots in the forewing are almost obsolete and the submarginal band is only represented by a nebulous stripe]. The female is not unlike that of Arhopala eumolphus, but easily distinguishable by the blue colouring above and the less lustrous under surface.^{[1] [2]}

Subspecies

• A. s. silhetensis Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Burma, Mergui, Thailand, ?Indo China
• A. s. adorea ‘de Nicéville, 1890 Peninsular Malaya, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo
• A. s. fundania Fruhstorfer, 1914 Java
• A. s. malayica Bethune-Baker, 1903 Philippines, Java?
• A. s. philippina (Hayashi, 1981)Philippines (Mindanao)

Range in India

The butterfly occurs in India from Sikkim onto north Myanmar, and, from Karens to south Myanmar.^[3]

Status

The species is considered rare.^[3]

See also

• Lycaenidae
• List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)

Cited references

1. Seitz, A. Band 9: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die indo-australischen Tagfalter, 1927, 1197 Seiten 177 Tafeln
2. D'Abrera, B. 1986. Butterflies of the Oriental Region, Part III Lycaenidae & Riodinidae: pp. 536–672. Hill House, Melbourne.
3. Book: Evans . William Harry Evans

   . W. H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 . 260, ser no H49.21.

References

• Web site: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex) . Beccaloni . George . Scoble . Malcolm . Kitching . Ian . Simonsen . Thomas . Robinson . Gaden . Pitkin . Brian . Hine . Adrian . Lyal . Chris . . 2016-10-15.
• Book: Haribal, Meena . The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History . Gangtok, Sikkim, India . Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation . 1992.
• Book: Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander . Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth

. Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329.

External links

• Web site: Takanami . Yusuke . Seki . Yasuo . amp . 2001 . Genus Arhopala (Plate C) . A Synonymic List of Lycaenidae from the Philippines . https://web.archive.org/web/20011006194340/http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~EY4Y-TKNM/Arhopala-Phil/Arhopala-C.html . October 6, 2001 . Internet Archive. With images.