| Blackvein sergeant | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Athyma |
| Species: | A. ranga |
| Binomial name | |
| Athyma ranga Moore, 1857 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Athyma ranga, the blackvein sergeant, [1] [2] is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in south-west India, Cambodia and parts of Southeast Asia. [1] [2]
Upperside: Male velvety black, female very dark brown, suffused with bluish in certain lights. [3]
Forewing: A medial anterior and a preapical larger whitish spot in cell; posteriorly in the cell, beyond its apex and below it at base of interspace 1, some dull obscure blue spots; a discal series of white spots, three elongate placed obliquely from just beyond middle of costa, two more inwards in interspaces 2 and 3, one in middle of interspaces 1 a and 1; the spot in interspace 2 very large truncate exteriorly, the spot in interspace 3 elongate. Beyond these spots an inner and an outer subterminal line of transverse white marks irrorated more or less with blackish scales. [3]
Hindwing: a subbasal broad transverse macular white band, the anterior spots that compose it more widely separated than the others, a postdiscal series of white spots, irrorated with black scales, and a subterminal line of short detached narrow transverse pale marks in the interspaces; cilia on forewings and hindwings black alternated with white. [3]
Underside very dark brown, shaded and blotched with black between the white markings; these latter as on the upperside, but all pure white, much larger, much more clearly defined; dorsal margin of hindwing broadly pale blue. [3]
Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black; the thorax anteriorly obscurely glossed with blue; the abdomen with a series of lateral white spots on each side from base; body beneath white, glossed on thorax with pale blue; eyes hairy. [3] [4]
The dry-season form has the ground colour above dark brown in both sexes and the markings broader and sullied white; on the underside the ground colour is distinctly ochraceous brown. [3]
Sikkim; Bhutan; hills of Assam, Burma and Tenasserim. Found also in southern India, Western Ghats and the Nilgiris. [3]
"In form the larva was exactly similar to that of Limenitis (Moduza) procris . ...; in colour it was green, with a whitish band round the 9th segment. Its habits were also like those of L. procris, but not quite the same. It selected one of the side nerves of a leaf and ate away the soft parts on each side till the bare nerve stood out; then having barricaded the approach to this with fragments of leaf which it had contrived to cut off in feeding, mixed with excrement and silk, it rested motionless on the very point of the rib unapproachable by ants or spiders. After the last moult it gave up these habits and rested on the upperside of a leaf, where it was conspicuous enough. We infer that the worst enemies of this species- are not birds or parasites but small spiders and predaceous insects." (Davidson & Aitken) [3]
Of the most brilliant silver colour, the segments and parts being outlined in brown. It is suspended perpendicularly; abdominal segments slender, the thoracic region larger and expanded laterally; two long sharp horns issuing from the sides of the head and at first parallel, diverge and point laterally; on the back there are two prominent processes curved towards each other, and many small points and tubercles. (Davidson & Aitken) [3]
Abisara echerius, the plum Judy, is a small but striking butterfly found in Asia belonging to the Punches and Judies family (Riodinidae). It is difficult to distinguish it from Abisara bifasciata.
Papilio clytia, the common mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in south and southeast Asia. The butterfly belongs to the subgenus Chilasa, the black-bodied swallowtails. It serves as an excellent example of a Batesian mimic among the Indian butterflies.
Papilio (Chilasa) paradoxa, the great blue mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in India and parts of South-East Asia. The butterfly belongs to the mime subgenus, Chilasa, of the genus Papilio. It is an excellent mimic of different species of Euploea.
Athyma selenophora, the staff sergeant, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in tropical and subtropical Asia.
Colotis amata, the small salmon Arab, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. It is found in Africa and Asia. Adults are fond of smaller flowers for nectar and often fly low along the ground in search of wildflowers.
Euploea mulciber, the striped blue crow, is a butterfly found in India and Southeast Asia that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.
Cethosia cyane, the leopard lacewing, is a species of heliconiine butterfly found from India to southern China, and Indochina. Its range has expanded in the last few decades, and its arrival in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, including Singapore, is relatively recent.
Tarucus theophrastus, the common tiger blue, pointed Pierrot or African Pierrot, is a small butterfly found in the Old World tropics. It belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Chilades lajus, the lime blue, is a small butterfly found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Hainan, Mangulam Island, Sulawesi and the Philippines that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Orthomiella pontis, the straightwing blue, is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Jamides kankena, the glistening cerulean, is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Anthene emolus, the ciliate blue, is a small butterfly found in India and southeast Asia that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Jean-Baptiste Godart in 1823.
Cupha erymanthis, the rustic, is a species of brush-footed butterfly found in forested areas of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. The males and females are identical.
Nacaduba kurava, the transparent six-line blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae found in Asia and Australia. The species was first described by Frederic Moore in 1857.
Nacaduba hermus, the pale four-line blue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in Indomalayan realm. The species was first described by Baron Cajetan von Felder in 1860.
Athyma nefte, the colour sergeant, is a species of brush-footed butterfly found in tropical South and Southeast Asia.
Athyma zeroca, the small staff sergeant, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in tropical and subtropical Asia.
Cethosia nietneri, the Tamil lacewing, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in Sri Lanka and south India. The species name is after John Nietner who obtained specimens of the butterfly from Ceylon from which it was described.
The Indian fritillary is a species of butterfly of the nymphalid or brush-footed family. It is usually found from south and southeast Asia to Australia.
Catochrysops strabo, the forget-me-not, is a small butterfly found in Asia that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. It is found in Sri Lanka, India, from Sikkim to Indochina and in Sundaland, Sulawesi and the Philippines.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Bingham, Charles Thomas (1905). Fauna of British India. Butterflies Vol. 1. pp. 312–313. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Moore, Frederic (1896–1899). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. III. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 210–212.