Azanus Ubaldus
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''Azanus ubaldus'', the bright babul blue, desert babul blue, or velvet-spotted blue, is a small
butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
found in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and Africa that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.


Description

Male upperside brownish purple, dark blue at base of wings. Forewing: costa very narrow along its apical half, termen evenly and a little more broadly from apex to tornus, edged with brown; the area on the disc, in the cell and beyond it is covered with hair-like specialized scales and is distinctly darker. Hindwing: similar, the brown edging to the costa much broader; posteriorly in the tornal area there is a dark spot in interspace 1 and another more clearly defined similar spot in interspace 2, both spots merged more or less into the terminal brown edging. Cilia of both forewings and hindwings white, with their basal halves evenly dark brown. Underside: greyish brown. Forewing: two short white lines, one each side of the discocellulars; a minute black subcostal dot above apex of cell, another similar dot a little beyond it; two parallel, obliquely placed, transverse, upper discal white lines, followed by an inner and an outer obliquely placed, irregular, broken, subterminal line also white, the inner one somewhat lunular, and an anteciliary dark line; the posterior third from base of the wing uniform, somewhat paler than the rest. Hindwing: the following black white-encircled spots conspicuous: 4 subbasal spots in transverse order, a subcostal spot in middle of interspace 7, two minute geminate (paired) spots at the tornal angle, and a larger one in interspace 2; two transverse short white lines on either side of the discocellulars as on the forewing; a transverse, curved, catenulated, discal band of white markings, followed by a postdiscal and subterminal series of white lunules and an anteciliary dark line edged inwardly with white. Antennae dark brown, the shafts ringed with white; apex of club also white; head, thorax and abdomen dark brown, the thorax in fresh specimens with a little purplish-blue pubescence; beneath: palpi, thorax, and abdomen white. Female upperside: rich silky brown. Forewings and hindwings: suffused with purplish blue at base, and with anteciliary black lines. Hindwing: with two black spots at tornal area as in the male. Underside: as in the male but the markings more regular, more evenly and neatly defined, and the white transverse lines on the forewing carried to the dorsal margin. Cilia, antennae, head, thorax and abdomen similar to those of the male, the thorax however, devoid of any bluish pubescence (fine hairs) on the upperside. Individuals show notable variations in coloration, compared to specimens from other regions of South Africa (e.g Witsand).


Gallery

File:Aaimg.jpg, Male left, female right, from
Adalbert Seitz Friedrich Joseph Adalbert Seitz, (24 February 1860 in Mainz – 5 March 1938 in Darmstadt) was a German physician and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He was a director of the Frankfurt zoo from 1893 to 1908 and is best known for editi ...
File:Azanus ubaldus – Bright Babul Blue3.jpg, Upper side File:Bright babul blue.jpg, At
Savandurga Savandurga is a hill 60 km west of Bengaluru, Karnataka, off the Magadi road in India. It is the largest monolith hills in Asia. The hill rises to 1226 m above mean sea level and forms a part of the Deccan plateau. It consists of peninsula ...
Forest,
Magadi Magadi is a town and taluk located in Bengaluru South District , Karnataka, India. History As per a legend, Magadi was founded in 1139 by a Chola king, who, in the course of an expedition, heard that in early times it had been the residence ...
, Karnataka, India File:Bright babul blue mating.JPG, Mating File:Mating pair of Azanus ubaldus (Stoll,1782) – Bright Babul Blue.jpg, Mating pair


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2161655 ubaldus Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Africa Butterflies described in 1782