Heliophorus epicles explained

Heliophorus epicles, commonly known as the purple sapphire, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in Asia.^[1] The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Godart in 1823.

Subspecies

The subspecies of Heliophorus epicles are:^{[2] [3]}

• Heliophorus epicles epicles Fruhstorfer, 1918 – western Java
• Heliophorus epicles hilima Fruhstorfer, 1912 – eastern Java
• Heliophorus epicles latilimbata Fruhstorfer, 1908 – Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, Myanmar, Andamans, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, southern Yunnan
• Heliophorus epicles tweediei Eliot, 1963 – Peninsular Malaya
• Heliophorus epicles sumatrensis Fruhstorfer, 1908 – Sumatra
• Heliophorus epicles phoenicoparyphus Holland, 1887 – Hainan

Distribution

In India, this butterfly can only be traced in the Himalayas at 2000–7000 ft (600–2100 m). Apart from that they can be found from Kumaon in the Himalayas to southern Myanmar. They mainly inhabit in dense forest region.^{[4] [5] [6]}

See also

• List of butterflies of India
• List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)

References

• Book: Evans . W.H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 .
• Book: Gaonkar, Harish . Harish Gaonkar . Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India (including Sri Lanka) - A Biodiversity Assessment of a Threatened Mountain System . Centre for Ecological Sciences . Bangalore, India . 1996 .
• Book: Gay . Thomas . Kehimkar . Isaac David . Punetha . Jagdish Chandra . Common Butterflies of India . Nature Guides . World Wide Fund for Nature-India by Oxford University Press . Bombay, India . 1992 . 978-0195631647 .
• Book: Haribal, Meena . The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History . Gangtok, Sikkim, India . Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation . 1992 .
• Book: Kunte, Krushnamegh . Butterflies of Peninsular India . India, A Lifescape . Hyderabad, India . Universities Press . 2000 . 978-8173713545 .
• Book: Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander . Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329 .

Notes and References

1. Book: R.K., Varshney. A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. Smetacek. Peter. Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. 2015. 978-81-929826-4-9. New Delhi. 10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164.
2. Web site: Savela . Markku . Heliophorus epicles (Godart, [1824]) ]. Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms . 2 October 2018.
3. Web site: Heliophorus epicles Godart, 1823 – Purple Sapphire . 28 March 2017.
4. Book: Pratap Singh. Arun. Butterflies of India . 2011. Om Books International. Uttar Pradesh. 978-93-80069-60-9. 77. 1st.
5. Mahapatra. A.K.. A preliminary study on diversity of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Macrolepidoptera) in Regional Institute of Education campus, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India . 489–496. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies. 2320-7078. 4. 2. 16 February 2017.
6. Pal . etal . S.. Holistic Survey On Butterfly Diversity at Two Selected Regions of the Northern Parts of Bengal, India . 42–57. International Research Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences. 2349-4077. 2. 4. 16 February 2017.