Surendra vivarna

Acacia blue
In North Sulawesi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Surendra
Species: S. vivarnana
Binomial name
Surendra vivarna
(Horsfield, 1829)
Synonyms
  • Amblypodia vivarna Horsfield, [1829]
  • Amblypodia amisena Hewitson, 1862

Surendra vivarna, the acacia blue, is a species of lycaenid or hairstreak butterfly found in Sri Lanka, India and the Indonesian islands as far as Sulawesi.[1]

Range

Its range is similar to that of its genus, Surendra, except it is not recorded from China or the Philippines proper (where it is replaced by S. maniliana), but from Balabac, Palawan and the Calamian Islands.[2]

Description

In the male, the wings above are deep shining purplish blue, with a black apical border on the forewing, and on the hindwing both the costal and inner margins are broadly black bordered. In Sulawesi, the female is plain brown, with thread-like borders on both wings, while from Borneo westwards the female is a steely blue on the upperside, with diffuse darker borders. The underside is brown, with a series of white-edged dark striae, see pictures.

Subspecies

The subspecific name amisena Hewitson, 1862, is used for specimens from South Burma, Thailand, Malaya, and Sumatra,[3] while palowna Staudinger, 1889, is used in Borneo[4] and samina Fruhstorfer, 1904, in Sulawesi.[2] Other subspecies are agdistis Fruhstorfer from Nias, biplagiata Butler from southern India, latimargo Moore from the Andamans and discalis Moore from Sri Lanka.

Food plants

Fabaceae (Acacia, Albizia, Paraserianthes) and it is facultatively attended by various ants.

See also

Cited references

  1. Eliot J.N., in The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula, 4th Edition.
  2. 1 2 Vane-Wright R.I. & de Jong R. 2003. The Butterflies of Sulawesi.
  3. Pinratana A. Butterflies in Thailand, Volume 4, 1981.
  4. Seki Y. Butterflies of Borneo, Volume 2, No. 1, 1991.
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