Pratapa icetoides

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Blue royal
P. i. calculis
P. i. yasa From the Courvoisier Collection, Basel, Switzerland
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Pratapa
Species:
P. icetoides
Binomial name
Pratapa icetoides
(Elwes, 1892)

Pratapa icetoides, the blue royal,[1] is a species of blue butterfly (Lycaenidae) found in the Indomalayan realm.

Range[edit]

The butterfly occurs in India from Assam, the Khasi Hills, eastwards and across to north and south Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Nias.[2][3]

Subspecies[edit]

  • P. i. icetoides North India, Burma, North Thailand, Assam, Burma
  • P. i. cretheus (de Nicéville, 1895) Sumatra, W.Java
  • P. i. carmentalis (de Nicéville, [1893]) Khasia Hills
  • P. i. yasa (Fruhstorfer, 1912) Nias
  • P. i. ecphanathus (Fruhstorfer, 1912) East Java
  • P. i. calculis Druce, 1895 South Thailand, Peninsular Malaya, Singapore, Borneo
  • P. i. marikit Schröder & Treadaway, 1986 Philippines, Palawan

Taxonomy[edit]

The butterfly was previously classified as Camena icetoides and Ancema icetoides.[4]

Status[edit]

William Harry Evans in 1932[3] and Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth in 1957 both describe the species as not being rare.[5]

Description[edit]

The butterfly has a wingspan of 30 to 32 mm.

The male white-banded royal above is a shining bright blue up to base of 4 in the forewing. On the hindwing is a mid-costal white patch. The male has a large but inconspicuous brand on the upperside of the hindwing. The female is a pale dull powdery blue with a broad black border on both wings. The underside is pale brown with no bars end cell. The forewing has an outwardly white-edged discal line curved inwards.[6]

See also[edit]

Cited references[edit]

  1. ^ Yutaka Inayoshi, A Check List of Butterflies in Indo-China, page on Pratapa icetoides.
  2. ^ Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera Page on genus Pratapa
  3. ^ a b Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 281, ser no H59.8.
  4. ^ Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "Ancema icetoides​". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  5. ^ Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 340. ISBN 978-8170192329.
  6. ^ Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation. p. 106.

References[edit]