Aulocera brahminus
Aulocera brahminus, the narrow-banded satyr, is a brown (Satyrinae) butterfly that is found in the Himalayas. The species was first described by Émile Blanchard in 1853.[1][2]
| Narrow-banded satyr | |
|---|---|
_(8145251989).jpg.webp) | |
| Aulocera brahminus in Seitz (41c) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Aulocera |
| Species: | A. brahminus |
| Binomial name | |
| Aulocera brahminus (E. Blanchard, 1853) | |
Range
The butterfly is found in the Himalayas from Kashmir eastwards to Garhwal, Kumaon, Nepal and Sikkim.[3]
Status
In 1932 William Harry Evans reported that the species was common.[3]
Description
The barrow-banded satyr is 55 to 68 mm in wingspan.[3]
The barrow-banded satyrs are large powerfully built Himalayan butterflies which are black or very dark brown above. They are characterised by a white discal band across both wings. The hindwing band is narrow and even in width. The white discal spots in 1 to 4 along the inner edge of the forewing are in line. The wings are rounded with convex termens and have chequered fringes. A dark apical spot or ocellus is present on the forewing. The under hindwing is dark below, with beautiful white variegations not as prominent as the dark background.[3][4]
The tegumen is gradually sloped to the tip.[3]
Earlier Aulocera brahminoides was considered a subspecies of A. brahminus. In A. brahminus, the under-forewing apical ocellus is well-defined and prominently pupilled while in A. brahminoides it is less well defined, much smaller and darker. The upper-hindwing discal band to dorsum, which is a characteristic feature in A. brahminus is much curved in the case of A. brahminoides.[3]
References
- Savela, Markku, ed. (March 8, 2019). "Aulocera brahminus (Blanchard, 1853)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- LepIndex shows this taxon as Satyrus swaha.[Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "Satyrus swaha". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. ] LepIndex considers the genus Aulocera Butler, 1867; Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 4: 121, TS: Satyrus brahminus Blanchard. to be a junior subjective synonym of Satyrus Latreille 1810 Cons. gén. Anim. Crust. Arach. Ins.: 355, 440, TS: Papilio actaea Linnaeus.[Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "Satyrus". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. ]
- Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 116, ser no D11.1.
- Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-8170192329.
- Beccaloni, George; Scoble, Malcolm; Kitching, Ian; Simonsen, Thomas; Robinson, Gaden; Pitkin, Brian; Hine, Adrian; Lyal, Chris. "The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex)". Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
- Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 978-8170192329.
- Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation.