| Apefly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Upperside | |
 | |
| Underside, Kerala, India | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Spalgis |
| Species: | S. epius |
| Binomial name | |
| Spalgis epius (Westwood, 1851) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Spalgis epius, [1] the apefly, is a small butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. [2] [3] It gets its name from the supposed resemblance of its pupa to the face of an ape.
Upperside: dull brown, slightly darker towards the apex of the forewing; also a more or less quadrate whitish spot beyond the apex of the cell on the same wing; in some specimens this spot is slightly diffuse. Underside: pale, silky, brownish white; forewings and hindwings crossed by numerous, very slender, short, sinuous, transverse, dark brown strigae which are outwardly slenderly edged with brownish white of a shade paler than that of the ground colour; both wings with an anteciliary dark brown line with on the inner side a similar edging. Forewing, in addition, with an oval white spot beyond the cell. Cilia of both forewings and hindwings of the same shade as the ground colour of the wings. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen pale brown, club of antennae ochraceous at apex; beneath: the palpi and thorax brownish grey, abdomen pale brown. [4]
Upperside: slightly paler brown. Forewing: the cell and apex darker; a white spot similar to that in the male but larger, beyond the apex of the cell; in most specimens extended diffusely outwards and downwards. Hindwing: similar to that of the male. Underside: precisely as in the male. [4] [5]
The caterpillars of this butterfly, like other members of the subfamily Miletinae, are entomophagous and are predators of scale insects like mealybugs. [6] [7] The species unlike many other lycaenid butterflies is not myrmecophilous (it has no mutualistic associations with ants). [8]
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: Butterflies Volume II. London: Taylor and Francis, Ltd. p. 311. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Swinhoe, Charles (1905–1910). Lepidoptera Indica: Volume VII. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 234–235.
Badamia exclamationis, commonly known as the brown awl or narrow-winged awl, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in south and southeast Asia, Australia, and Oceania.
Bibasis gomata, commonly known as the pale green awlet, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Northeast India, the Western Ghats and parts of Southeast Asia. The butterfly was reassigned to genus Burara by Vane-Wright and de Jong (2003) and is considered by them to be Burara gomata.
Hasora badra, the common awl, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae, which is found in India.
Hasora chromus, the common banded awl, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae which is found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Hasora vitta, the plain banded awl, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae which is found in India and parts of Southeast Asia.
Aeromachus dubius, the dingy scrub-hopper, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It ranges from India to China, including Malaya, Assam, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Hainan and Yunnan.
Caltoris canaraica, the Kanara swift, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae.
Pelopidas conjuncta, the conjoined swift, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae found in India.
Telicota colon, commonly known as the pale palm dart or common palm dart, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae found in India to Australia.
Spialia galba, the Indian grizzled skipper, is a hesperiid butterfly which is found in South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.
Leptotes plinius, the zebra blue or plumbago blue, is a species of blue butterfly (Lycaenidae) found in Sri Lanka, India to Australia. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793.
Papilio dravidarum, the Malabar raven, is an endemic species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Western Ghats of India.
Papilio polymnestor, the blue Mormon, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in south India and Sri Lanka. It is the "state butterfly" of the Indian state of Maharashtra. With a wingspan of 120–150 mm, it is the fourth largest butterfly of India.
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.
Libythea geoffroy, the purple beak, is a butterfly found in parts of India and Myanmar that belongs to the subfamily Libytheinae of the family Nymphalidae.
Miletus symethus, the great brownie, is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777.
Bindahara phocides, the plane, is a small butterfly found Indomalayan and Australasian realms that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Jamides alecto, the metallic cerulean, is a small butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm but which crosses the Wallace line into the Australasian realm (Celebes). It belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
Nacaduba pavana, the small four-line blue or Singapore four-line blue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in Southeast Asia.
Rathinda is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. It consists of a single species, Rathinda amor, the monkey puzzle, found in Sri Lanka and India.
