Dacalana cotys

White-banded Royal
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Dacalana
Species:	D. cotys
Binomial name
Dacalana cotys (Hewitson, 1865)

The White-banded Royal Dacalana cotys^[1] is a species of blue butterfly found in South East Asia.

Range

The butterfly occurs in India from Sikkim to Assam eastwards and across to northern Myanmar and Thailand.^[1][2]

Taxonomy

The butterfly was previously classified as Pratapa cotys ^[2], Ancema cotys^[3] and Camana cotys ^[4].

Status

Not Common as per Wynter-Blyth.^[5] Not Rare as per Evans.^[2]

Description

For a key to the terms used see Lepidopteran glossary

The butterfly has a wingspan of 33 to 37 mm. UP: Male - The White-banded Royal above is a bright azure blue with a black border at the apex ranging from 0.5 to 5 mm at the apex. On the hindwing is a mid-costal white patch. The male has a brand on the UPF. Female - Paler with a prominent white patch at the end cell of the FW. UN: The butterfly has a white band on a pale-brown background which broadens towards the costa and dorsum. There is a lot of seasonal variation in the band-width.^[6].

Cited references

1. ^ ^{a b} Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera Page on Dacalana genus.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Evans,W.H.(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies, ser no H59.2, pp 279.
3. ^ Card for cotys in LepIndex. Accessed 08 August 2007.
4. ^ Yutaka Inayoshi, A Check List of Butterflies in Indo-China, page on Dacalana cotys.
5. ^ Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, pg 338.
6. ^ Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim, pg 106.

See also

• Lycaenidae
• List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)

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.
• 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.
• Yutaka Inayoshi, A Check List of Butterflies in Indo-China, page on Family Lycaenidae (accessed on 7 August 2007).</ref>.