Miletus chinensis longeana
Miletus chinensis longeana, or Long's brownie,[1][2] is a small but striking subspecies of butterfly found in India and Myanmar[3][4] that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
| Miletus chinensis longeana | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Miletus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | M. c. longeana |
| Trinomial name | |
| Miletus chinensis longeana (de Nicéville, 1898) | |
Status
This subspecies is reported as not being rare by William Harry Evans[3] and as rare as per Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth.[4]
Description
A small butterfly, 30 to 38 mm in wingspan. The upper forewing in both sexes has a prominent curved white discal band; the lower spots composing it are separate and sometimes coalesced in female. The apical area of the upper forewing is darker than the basal area. The dry-season form of the butterfly is white above except for the apex and a discal brown patch of the forewing and the costa on the hindwing.[4]
Taxonomy
The butterfly was earlier known as Gerydus longeana de Nicéville.[3] It was formerly treated as a species, but is now regarded as a subspecies of Miletus chinensis.
Cited references
- Page on Markku Savela's site for genus Miletus (Lycaenidae).
- Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "Miletus chinensis longeana". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. . Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 211, ser no H5.4.
- Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 254. ISBN 978-8170192329.
References
- Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society.
- Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 978-8170192329.
Online
- 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 15 October 2016.
- "Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera".