Hypolycaena erylus

Common Tit
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Hypolycaena
Species:	H. erylus
Binomial name
Hypolycaena erylus (Godart, 1823)
Synonyms
Polyommatus erylus Godart, [1824] Hypolycaena teatus Fruhstorfer, 1912

The Common Tit (Hypolycaena erylus) ^[1][2] is a small but striking butterfly found in India and Southeast Asia ^[3][4] that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues family.

Range

Nepal, Sikkim - Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, South Yunnan, Java, Lombok, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Andamans, Nias, Sulawesi, Philippines, Sula, Bachan, Halmahera, Obi, Bismarck Archipelago and Waigeu.^[1]

Status

Common.^[3][4] Not Rare as per Haribal.^[5]

Description

The underside of both sexes is pale greyish brown. The underside hindwing does not have a spot in the basal area of 7. The butterfly has two tails - a 6mm long one at V1 and a 5mm long tail at V2. The markings include.^[5]-

• a double bar at end-cell.
• a regular discal line on the forewing.
• a broken, less regular line on the hindwing.

The male butterfly is pale blue to dark brown above, dark shining purple depending on the light. It has a black border with the upper forewing having a large black discal area of modified scales.^[5]

The female butterfly is dark brown and its hindwing has a white disconnected discal band above the tornus. The butterfly also has a white-edged tornal black spot in 2.^[5]

• 

  Underside

• 

  Upperside

• 

  Upperside left,underside right.From Seitz

Taxonomy

The butterfly has a number of subspecies of which one, Hypolycaena erylus himavantus (Fruhstorfer), is found in mainland India while another H. erylus andamana Moore is found in the Andamans.^[5] All subspecies are:

• Hypolycaena erylus erylus (Java)
• Hypolycaena erylus pupienus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Lombok)
• Hypolycaena erylus teatus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo)
• Hypolycaena erylus himavantus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Nepal, Sikkim to Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, southern Yunnan)
• Hypolycaena erylus andamana Moore, 1877 (Andamans)
• Hypolycaena erylus syphax Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Nias)
• Hypolycaena erylus gamatius Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Sulawesi) (= Hypolycaena erylus pigres Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Obi))
• Hypolycaena erylus tmolus C. & R. Felder, 1862 (Philippines)
• Hypolycaena erylus orsiphantus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Philippines: Basilan)
• Hypolycaena erylus aimnestus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Palawan)
• Hypolycaena erylus georgius Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Sula)
• Hypolycaena erylus thyrius Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Bachan, Halmahera)
• Hypolycaena erylus moutoni Ribbe
• Hypolycaena erylus figulus Fruhstorfer, 1912 (Waigeu)
• Hypolycaena erylus erna Kalis, 1933 (Bismarck Archipelago)

Habits

The butterfly is abundant at low elevations. Males are known to cluster at damp patches while the females are rarely seen.^[5]

Lifehistory

Recorded on Meyna pubescens in India.^[5]

Gallery

• 

  ssp. gamatius male

• 

  ssp. gamatius female

• 

  ssp. thyrius male

• 

  ssp. thyrius female

• 

  unknown ssp. male

• 

  unknown ssp. female

• 

  other unknown ssp. female

Cited references

1. ^ ^{a b} Page on Marrku Savela's site for genus Hypolycaena (Lycaenidae).
2. ^ Card for species erylus in LepIndex. Accessed 05 December 2006.
3. ^ ^{a b} Evans,W.H.(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies, ser no H80.3, pg 294.
4. ^ ^{a b} Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, pg 253-254.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim, pg 107.

References

• Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 4 December 2006].
• Bingham, C. T. 1907. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 2.
• Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
• Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and their Natural History.
• Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera [1].
• Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.

External links

• Asahinet Photographs of correctly determined specimens of Hypolycaena erylus from the Philippines

See also

• Lycaenidae
• List of butterflies of India
• List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)