Udara lanka

Udara lanka
Ceylon Hedge Blue
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Udara
Species: U. lanka
Binomial name
Udara lanka
Moore, 1877

The Ceylon Hedge Blue Udara lanka[1] is a small butterfly found in Sri Lanka[2] that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues family.

Contents

Description

Male upperside: uniform purplish-blue; an extremely narrow bordering of black to the termen of both the fore and hind wings present in a few specimens, absent in most; also the hind wing is slightly shaded with dusky black along the costa. Underside: shining silvery white. Fore and hind wings with the usual Cyaniris markings but the postdiscal transverse series of abbreviated pale brown lines on the former almost in line one with the other, the whole series placed slightly obliquely on the wing and appreciably curved. On the hind wing the markings are small and regular, the lower discal series of spots bisinuate. The transverse lunular line beyond the discal markings that is comparatively distinct in most forms, is in this barely indicated on both fore and hind wings. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen dusky black; beneath : the palpi, thorax and abdomen snow-white.

Female. Upperside: differs from the male in the ground-colour which is slightly paler and on the fore wing by the very broad costal and terminal blackish -brown border; on the hind wing by the similar border to the costal margin, the slightly broader black anticiliary line and a posterior subterminal series of somewhat indistinct black spots. Underside, antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male.[3]

Taxonomy

The butterfly was earlier known as Lycaenopsis lanka Moore[2] and later as Polyommatus lanka[4].

Range

It is found in Sri Lanka[2].

Cited references

  1. ^ Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera Page on Udara genus.
  2. ^ a b c Evans,W.H.(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies, ser no H21.16, pp 221-226
  3. ^ Bingham, C. T. 1907. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 2
  4. ^ Card for lanka in LepIndex. Accessed 14 October 2006.

See also

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 14 October 2006].
  • Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
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