Chitoria sordida

Sordid Emperor
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Chitoria
Species:	C. sordida
Binomial name
Chitoria sordida (Moore, 1865)
Synonyms
Apatura sordida

The Sordid Emperor (Chitoria sordida) is a species of Nymphalid butterfly found in tropical Asia.

Description

See glossary for terms used

The males have the upperside of the fore wing darkening towards the apex, the apical two-thirds much darker brown, an oblique discal white band from interspace 6 to tornal angle formed of more or less rectangular spots; a small spot beyond in interspace 4 and two preapical spots white. Hind wing uniform, a lunular subterminal dark line inwardly bordered by a row of dark spots, and a terminal row of pale lunules. Underside pale brownish grey. Fore wing with the discal band and spots more or less as on the upperside; a black, blind, yellow-ringed ocellus, with a dark brown shade in the interspace below it; ocellus and brown shading bordered inwardly by white; a subterminal dark line, and some diffuse white marks on termen below apex and at tornus. Hind wing with an incomplete discal white band and a series of white spots beyond, ending in a well-marked, broadly yellow-ringed, blue-centred, black ocellus in interspace 2 ; lastly, a subterminal dark line as in the fore wing. Antennae brown, paler below the club ; head, thorax and abdomen brown, paler beneath.^[1]

The female is similar; the hind wing is more rounded and the oblique discal band on the fore wing is very much broader. The wing expanse is 68–80 mm. Found in northeastern India and Southeast Asia.

References

1. ^ Bingham, C. T. 1905. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Vol. 1