''Neptis columella'', the short banded sailer, is a species of

nymphalid The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have ...

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

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Description

Upperside black, with white markings. Forewing: discoidal streak widening towards apex, notched pre-apically on the anterior margin and obliquely truncate at apex; spot beyond large, broadly triangular, well separated; discal spots in pairs varying in size, spot of this series in interspace 1 always an elongate; spots in transverse postdiscal series obscure, not all well defined, margined on both sides with deeper black than that of the ground colour; the space between the series and the discal spots and also the terminal margin beyond it with obscure transverse pale markings. Hindwing: costal margin broadly greyish brown; subbasal band not extending to the costa, of varying width; discal and subterminal pale transverse lines, the space between them darker than the ground colour, traversed by a prominent series of postdiscal spots of varying size. Cilia white alternating with black. Underside ferruginous brown; white markings as on the upperside but broader; the pale markings between the discal and postdiscal series of spots, the subterminal markings on the upperside of the forewing, and the discal and subterminal pale lines on the upperside of the hindwing represented by pale lunular transverse whitish markings. The costal margin of the hindwing above vein 8 very broad, especially in the female. Antennae dark brown to black; head, thorax and abdomen dark brownish black; beneath white.

Distribution

Western and southern India, recorded from Our Panjal range Nowshera , Rajouri Jammu and Kashmir UT

Mahabaleshwar Mahabaleshwar () is a small town and a municipal council in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus because the Krishna River has its origin here. The British colonial rulers developed the town as a hill sta ...

near

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, and the Nilgiris;

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

, through the hills of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and Tenasserim to the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Subspecies

*''P. c. columella'' S.China, Hong Kong, Hainan, Tonkin *''P. c. eremita'' C. & R. Felder, 867Luzon *''P. c. ophiana'' (Moore, 1872) Sikkim, Assam, N.Burma *''P. c. martabana'' (Moore, 1881) S.Yunnan, Burma, Siam, South Vietnam *''P. c. bataviana'' (Moore, 1898) Java, Bali *''P. c. nilgirica'' (Moore, 1889) S.India *''P. c. ophianella'' (Staudinger, 1889) Palawan *''P. c. soror'' Semper, 1889 Layte, Camotes *''P. c. angara'' Semper, 1889 SE.Mindanao *''P. c. singa'' (Fruhstorfer, 1899) Malaya, Sumatra *''P. c. lombokiana'' (Fruhstorfer, 1899) Lombok, Sumbawa *''P. c. kangeana'' Fruhstorfer, 1905 Kangean Island *''P. c. baweana'' Fruhstorfer, 1905 Bawean *''P. c. sumbana'' Fruhstorfer, 1905 Sumba *''P. c. guimarensis'' (Fruhstorfer, 1913) Guimarens *''P. c. binghami'' Fruhstorfer, 1905 Nicobars *''P. c. eumeneia'' (Fruhstorfer, 1913) Mindoro *''P. c. mesogaia'' (Fruhstorfer, 1913) Mindanao *''P. c. parvimacula'' (Pendlebury, 1933) Pulau Tioman *''P. c. karimondjawae'' (van Eecke, 1933) Karimundjawa *''P. c. adonara'' Eliot, 1969 Flores, Adonara

Gallery

Image:Short-banded_Sailer_(Neptis_columella)_on_a_Chalta_(Dillenia_indica)_leaf_in_Kolkata_W_IMG_3620.jpg, On a chalta (''

Dillenia indica ''Dillenia indica'', commonly known as elephant apple or ou tenga, is a species of ''Dillenia'' (Family Dilleniaceae) native to China, India, and tropical Asia. It is found in stony river banks. This species was one of the many first described b ...

'') leaf in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India Image:Short-banded_Sailer_(Neptis_columella)_in_Kolkata_W_IMG_3736.jpg, In Kolkata, West Bengal

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6995433

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...

Butterflies of Indonesia Butterflies of Singapore Butterflies of Indochina Taxa named by Pieter Cramer Butterflies described in 1780 Butterflies of Malaysia