Choaspes Benjaminii

''Choaspes benjaminii'',Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera - page on genu

/ref>TOL web page on genu
''Choaspes''
/ref> also known as the Indian awlking or common awlking, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. The species is named after Benjamin Delessert and was described on the basis of a specimen collected by Adolphe Delessert in the Nilgiris.

Range

The Indian awlking is found in Sri Lanka, India, northern Myanmar, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan.

In India, the Indian awlking ranges from the Palni Hills, Nilgiris and Kodagu in the south to northern and eastern India; from Kulu to Assam and eastwards onto Myanmar.

The type locality is Nilgiris in South India.

Status

Not rare.

Description

The Indian awlking is 50 to 60 mm long. It is distinguished by the shining green under hindwing with black veins, orange area with black spots on the tornus.

The male butterfly is shining indigo blue above. It has purplish hairs at the base which turn greenish with age. Cilia of hindwing and anal lobe broadly ochreous red.

The female butterfly is dark shining green with bluish-grey hairs at the base. forewing with a broad pale cupreous brown band on posterior margin; hindwing with a broad ochreous-red lobular patch with black macular upper border and broad central angular streak.

Thorax greyish olive above, vertex bluish olive, abdomen brown; palpi and thorax in front and abdomen beneath, ochreous red.

Habits

The Indian awlking is found in heavy jungles from in the hills. It is attracted to flowers and animal and bird droppings. It frequents the shade in the daytime but is found flying in the open during the early and late hours of the day.

Life cycle

Caterpillars

Larva with broad transverse dorsal black and yellow bands and two rows of white spots along the back; head, two anal segments and laterally below the bands red; face black spotted.

Pupa

Pupa pinkish grey black spotted. The larva rolls itself upon the tip of the leaf on which it feeds, and when it has eaten this leaf it goes to another, and so on till it changes to pupa.

Host plants

The larva (caterpillar) has been recorded on ''Meliosma arnottiana'', '' Meliosma pinnata'', ''Meliosma simplicifolia'', '' Sabia campanulata'', ''Meliosma pungens'', ''Meliosma rhoifolia'', ''Meliosma rigida'', ''Meliosma squamulata'', and ''Buddleja''.

Cited references

See also

*Coeliadinae
*Hesperiidae
*List of butterflies of India (Coeliadinae)
*List of butterflies of India (Hesperiidae)

References

Print
*
* Watson, E. Y. (1891) ''Hesperiidae indicae''. Vest and Co. Madras.
*

Online
*
*Brower, Andrew V. Z., (2007). ''Choaspes'' Moore 1881. Version 21 February 2007 (under construction). Page o
genus Choaspes
in The Tree of Life Web Project http://tolweb.org/.
*.

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3595558

Coeliadinae
Butterflies of Malaysia
Butterflies described in 1843
Taxa named by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville
Butterflies of Sri Lanka
Butterflies of Japan
Butterflies of Taiwan