Zipaetis saitis

Zipaetis saitis, the Tamil catseye,[1][2] is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South India.[1][2]

Tamil catseye
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Zipaetis
Species:
Z. saitis
Binomial name
Zipaetis saitis
Hewitson, 1863

Description

Upperside in fresh specimens velvet black, or brown to light brown in the female. Forewing with a broad, oblique, snow-white band from middle of costa to near apex of interspace 1, inwardly emarginate in its lower third. Hindwing with a similar broad white postdiscal band parallel to the posterior two-thirds of the terminal margin, the outer margin of the band emarginate between the veins. Underside similar, ground colour paler; the white bands as on the upperside; both forewings and hindwings with a subterminal sinuous pale line. Hindwing with a row of five ocelli enclosed in a common silvery narrow band, on the inner side of the white band; each ocellus with a white centre, an inner ring of ochraceous, and an outer ring of blackish brown; the ocelli at the each end of the row the smallest, the preapical very large and bi-pupilled. Antennae ochraceous red; head, thorax and abdomen dark brown.[3][4]

Expanse: 64โ€“74 mm. (2.55-2.9 inches).

Habitat: Southern India; the Nilgiris, Anaimalai Hills, Kochi and Travancore.

References

  1. R.K., Varshney; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. pp. 180โ€“176. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
  2. "Zipaetis Hewitson, 1863" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  3. Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Bingham, Charles Thomas (1905). Fauna of British India. Butterflies Vol. 1. p. 105.
  4. Moore, Frederic (1893). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. II. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 108โ€“109.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.