''Rapala manea'', slate flash, 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 ...

. It is found in most of the

Indomalayan realm The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Ind ...

(excluding

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

). The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 24–26 mm. Rapala manea - Slate Flash male 24

The larvae of subspecies ''R. m. schistacea'' feed on the flowers of

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

Combretaceae The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, G ...

and

Leguminosae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

species, including ''

Quisqualis indica ''Combretum indicum'', commonly known as the Rangoon creeper or Burma creeper, is a vine with red flower clusters which is native to tropical Asia and grows in thickets, primary and secondary forest, and along river banks in the Indian subcontine ...

'' and ''

Acacia caesia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Rapala manea manea'' (Sulawesi) *''Rapala manea schistacea'' (Moore, 1879) (India to northern Thailand, Sri Lanka, southern Yunnan, possibly the Andamans) *''Rapala manea chozeba'' (Hewitson, 1863) (southern Thailand to Singapore, Sumatra, possibly Borneo) *''Rapala manea asikana'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Java, possibly Bali) *''Rapala manea enganica'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Enggano) *''Rapala manea lombokiana'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Lombok) *''Rapala manea baweanica'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Bawean) *''Rapala manea philippinensis'' Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Philippines:Luzon, Mindanao, Palawan) File:RapalaManeaManeaMUpUnAC1.jpg, ''Rapala manea manea'' Sulawesi File:RapalaManeaChozebaMUpUnAC1.jpg, ''Rapala manea chozeba'' Thailand File:RapalaManeaSchistaceaFUpUnAC1.jpg, ''Rapala manea schistacea'' Thailand File:SchistaceaMFUpUn 470 471 AC1.jpg, ''Rapala manea schistacea'' Sikkim, Assam, from the

Courvoisier Courvoisier () is a brand of cognac, with production based in the town of Jarnac in the Charente region of France. It is the youngest and smallest of the "big four" cognac houses (the others are Hennessy, Rémy Martin, and Martell). Courvoisi ...

Collection, Basel, Switzerland

References

Rapala (butterfly) Butterflies of Singapore Butterflies described in 1863 {{Theclinae-stub