Stichophthalma sparta

Manipur Jungle Queen
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Stichophthalma
Species: S. sparta
Binomial name
Stichophthalma sparta
De Nicéville, 1889

The Manipur Jungle Queen Stichophthalma sparta De Nicéville, 1889[1] is a butterfly found in South Asia that belongs to the Morphinae sub family of the Brush-footed butterflies family.

Distribution

The Manipur Jungle Queen ranges from Assam (Abor hills), Nagaland, Manipur across Myanmar (Kindat and Katha in the north; Htawgaw and Sadon in the NE of the country, and, Gokteik in the northern Shan states) onto Northern Yunnan in China.[1][2]

Status

Evans reports the butterfly as Not Rare in Sikkim and Assam and as Very Rare in the Naga hills.[2] Haribal reports the butterfly as Rare in Sikkim.[3]

Description

See glossary for terms used

Upperside of both males and females ochraceous-yellow suffused with a darker, somewhat brownish shade of the same towards base of fore wing and on hind wing. Fore wing has a postdiscal transverse row of fleur-de-lys-shaped spots, a subterminal series of broad black lunules, followed by a series of narrow crescentic marks of the ochraceous groundcolour; apex and a terminal line black. Hind wing has a sub-terminal series of black lunules as on the fore wing, giving out inwards a series of large, shafted, roundly lanceolate marks of the same colour, followed, as on the fore wing, by narrow ochraceous crescentic marks and a terminal black line, the marks posteriorly rather diffuse and tending to run together. Underside ochraceous yellow, with the following transverse markings— subbasal, median, postdiscal, sub terminal and terminal dark brown sinuous lines; a discal row of dark ochraceous ocelli, six on fore, five on hind wing : and, bordering the ocelli on the inner side, a variable diffuse dusky-black band, ending posteriorly on the hind wing in a black tornal spot. Antennae dark brown ; head, thorax and abdomen ochraceous, abdomen paler beneath.

Female upperside is similar, the black markings broader and heavier. Underside also similar, but the ground-colour a beautiful pale green with a silky lustre, the median transverse dark brown line outwardly bordered from costa of fore to vein 1 of hind wing with greenish white; the dusky-black transversely discal band broader and more diffuse: fore wing with seven ocelli; terminal margins broadly but lightly infuscated.[4]

Cited references

  1. 1 2 Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera Page on Sticophthalma genus.
  2. 1 2 Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies, pg 132-133.
  3. ↑ Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and their Natural History.
  4. ↑ Bingham, C. T. 1905. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Vol 1. (Under Stichophthalma howqua)

References

See also

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