''Taraka hamada'', the forest Pierrot, is a small species of

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 Asia, that belongs to the lycaenids (or blues) family.

Description

The uppersides of its wings are very pale brown in color, somewhat paler in the female, uniform, with the black spots of the underside faintly apparent by transparency. The undersides are white, with round black spots and markings as follows: forewing: a spot at base of wing followed in transverse order by two spots, again two spots, then an irregular row of five spots that crosses near the apex of cell, the lower two coalescent, beyond that another curved row of five spots, two of which are in interspace 3, then a complete curved series of outwardly-pointed and a terminal series of inwardly-pointed similar spots. The spots of the last series cross a well-marked but very slender anteciliary black line, and thus cause the white cilia to the wing to be alternated with black. Hindwing: similarly crossed by five rows, all of which are more or less curved outwards, of black spots, followed by a slender uninterrupted anteciliary black line. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brown, shafts of the antennae ringed with white, apex of club ochraceous; beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen white. The butterfly shows two extreme forms in

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 ...

, one extreme form which is almost completely black and the other having costa and outer margin black. The black spots from the underside are seen through the upper forewings of both sexes.

Range

The forest Pierrot is found in various regions of Asia; the butterfly occurs in India from

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 ...

and onto Myanmar and south to the

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts (), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, refers to the three hilly districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma) in the east: Kh ...

. The butterfly also occurs in west and central China,

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...

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. ...

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 ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, Japan, and possibly

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

and

Lombok Lombok, is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...

.Markku Savela's website on Lepidopter
Page on genus ''Taraka''.
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Habitat

A weak flying butterfly, found in forests at lower elevations.

Status

Not rare in Sikkim from April to December.

References

General reading

* * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1356980 Miletinae Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Borneo Butterflies of Java Taxa named by Herbert Druce