''Britomartis igarashii'' is a

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 ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of ...

. Forewing length: 14–15 mm. It is endemic to

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

and is distributed only in mountainous areas (

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...

and Mount Mulu). It is a rare species. Some specimens were taken at night in light traps. Etymology. The specific name is dedicated to Dr. Suguru IGARASHI, the Japanese lepidopterist.

References

* Hayashi, Hisakazu, 1976: Lycaenid butterflies from Mindanao, Borneo and Sulawesi(Celebes), with the descriptions of new subspecies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). ''Tyô to Ga''. 27(3): 97-9

* Holloway, J. D., 1984: Notes on the butterflies of the Gunung Mulu National Park. ''Sarawak Museum Journal''. 30: 89-133. * Seki, Yasuo, Takanami, Yusuke & Otsuka, Kazuhisa, 1991: ''Butterflies of Borneo, Lycaenidae''. 2(1): 1-113. Toboshima Corporation, Tokyo. Iolaini Lepidoptera of the Philippines Butterflies described in 1976 Endemic fauna of Borneo Butterflies of Borneo {{Theclinae-stub