Baspa melampus, the Indian red flash[1] is a species of blue (Lycaenidae) butterfly found in South-East Asia.
The butterfly occurs in Sri Lanka and in India from South India to Orissa, and, in the north from Murree to Kumaon.[2] The range extends to Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo and Bangka.[3]
The butterfly was previously classified as Rapala melampus (Stoll, 1781).[2] It is also sometimes treated as a subspecies of Rapala iarbus.[3]
In 1932, William Harry Evans described the species as not rare.[2]
. W.H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 . 299, ser no H85.16 .
. W.H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 .
. Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329 .