| Painted sawtooth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mud-puddling | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Prioneris |
| Species: | P. sita |
| Binomial name | |
| Prioneris sita C. Felder, 1865 | |
Prioneris sita, the painted sawtooth, [1] [2] is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in south India and Sri Lanka. [1] [2]
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Upperside: White with a slight greenish tint. Forewings and hindwings: The markings of the underside faintly visible through the wing. [3]
Underside: Forewing: White, costa black and the apex suffuse with yellow. Hindwing: Rich chrome yellow up to a postdiscal band. Beyond this the ground color is white with a series of large terminal vermillion-red spots. These spots are rectangular or truncated cone shaped. [3]
The antennae is brownish black. Head and thorax are covered with long bluish-grey hairs. The abdomen is greyish white. [3]
The painted sawtooth is a Batesian mimic of Delias eucharis , the common Jezebel, which has a much greater range, covering the entire Indian peninsula. Prioneris sita is only found in a small stretch of the Western Ghats, ranging from West-Central Karnataka, to the Nilgiris and Wayanad, south to Nilambur. It is a rare visitor to Travancore. The two can be told apart from the shape of the hindwing. The painted sawtooth has a much broader hindwing. The orange-red spots on the margin of the hindwing, in the painted sawtooth, are more squarish in shape whereas in the common Jezebel they are arrowhead shaped. The painted sawtooth also flies faster and inhabits dense forests. Unlike the common Jezebel it can also be found mud-puddling.
Larva: Dull blue green. The head and all the segments are dotted with minute blue tubercles, those on the head and sides are black tipped. Dorsal surface pubescent with a lateral fringe of soft white hairs below the spiracles. [3]
Pupa: Bright green in color. Sharply pointed at the head, with two strong lateral points and keeled on the dorsal surface of the thoracic segments. There is an interrupted yellow dorsal line, and a short curved crimson line on each side below the thoracic segments bordering a small white irregular black speckled spot. [3]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Bingham, C.T. (1907). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. II (1st ed.). London: Taylor and Francis, Ltd. p. 154.
Colias hyale, the pale clouded yellow, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, which is found in most of Europe and large parts of the Palearctic. It is a rare migrant to the British Isles and Scandinavia. The adult wingspan is 52–62 millimetres (2.0–2.4 in).
Delias eucharis, the common Jezebel, is a medium-sized pierid butterfly found in many areas of south and southeast Asia, especially in the non-arid regions of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. The common Jezebel is one of the most common of the approximately 225 described species in the genus Delias.
Leptosia nina, the psyche, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae and is found in Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia and Australia. The upper forewing has a black spot on a mainly white background. The flight is weak and erratic and the body of the butterfly bobs up and down as it beats its wings. They fly low over the grass and the butterfly rarely leaves the ground level.
Elymnias hypermnestra, the common palmfly, is a species of satyrine butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia.
Troides minos, the southern birdwing, also called Sahyadri birdwing, is a large and striking swallowtail butterfly endemic to South India. With a wingspan of 140–190 mm, it is the second largest butterfly of India. It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List.
Belenois aurota, the pioneer or pioneer white or caper white, is a small to medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in South Asia and Africa. In Africa, it is also known as the brown-veined white, and is well known during summer and autumn when large numbers migrate north-east over the interior.
Papilio buddha, the Malabar banded peacock, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Western Ghats of India. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state butterfly.
Pieris canidia, the Indian cabbage white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in India, Nepal and Indochina. Pieris rapae is one of the most closely related species in the Pieridae.
Pareronia ceylanica, the dark wanderer, is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. It is found in Sri Lanka and India.
Delias hyparete, the painted Jezebel, is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Delias pasithoe, the redbase Jezebel is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. The species is found in parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. There has been some dispute for which species the specific name aglaja, used twice by Linnaeus in 1758, applies – the redbase Jezebel, or the dark green fritillary, a brush-footed butterfly. Here, Delias pasithoe is used for the redbase Jezebel, based on the replacement name proposed by Linnaeus himself.
Appias indra, the plain puffin, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in south and southeast Asia.
Appias libythea, the striped albatross, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in south and southeast Asia.
Appias lyncida, the chocolate albatross, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in south and southeast Asia.
Appias albina, the common albatross, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in south and southeast Asia to Australia.
Colias berylla, the Everest clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in Sikkim (India) and Tibet.
Discophora lepida, the southern duffer, is a butterfly found in Sri Lanka and south India that belongs to the duffers group, that is, the Morphinae subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies family.
Neptis jumbah, the chestnut-streaked sailer, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia.
Pareronia hippia, the common wanderer or Indian wanderer, is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. It is found in India. Some authors consider this as a subspecies of Pareronia valeria.
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