Pratapa icetoides

Blue royal
P. i. calculis
P. i. yasa From the Courvoisier Collection, Basel, Switzerland
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Pratapa
Species:	P. icetoides
Binomial name
Pratapa icetoides (Elwes, 1892)

Pratapa icetoides, the blue royal,[1] is a species of blue butterfly (Lycaenidae) found in the Indomalayan realm.

Range

The butterfly occurs in India from Assam, the Khasi Hills, eastwards and across to north and south Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Nias.[2][3]

Subspecies

• P. i. icetoides North India, Burma, North Thailand, Assam, Burma
• P. i. cretheus (de Nicéville, 1895) Sumatra, W.Java
• P. i. carmentalis (de Nicéville, [1893]) Khasia Hills
• P. i. yasa (Fruhstorfer, 1912) Nias
• P. i. ecphanathus (Fruhstorfer, 1912) East Java
• P. i. calculis Druce, 1895 South Thailand, Peninsular Malaya, Singapore, Borneo
• P. i. marikit Schröder & Treadaway, 1986 Philippines, Palawan

Taxonomy

The butterfly was previously classified as Camena icetoides and Ancema icetoides.[4]

Status

William Harry Evans in 1932[3] and Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth in 1957 both describe the species as not being rare.[5]

Description

For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

The butterfly has a wingspan of 30 to 32 mm.

The male white-banded royal above is a shining bright blue up to base of 4 in the forewing. On the hindwing is a mid-costal white patch. The male has a large but inconspicuous brand on the upperside of the hindwing. The female is a pale dull powdery blue with a broad black border on both wings. The underside is pale brown with no bars end cell. The forewing has an outwardly white-edged discal line curved inwards.[6]

See also

• List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)

Cited references

1. Yutaka Inayoshi, A Check List of Butterflies in Indo-China, page on Pratapa icetoides.
2. Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera Page on genus Pratapa
3. Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 281, ser no H59.8.
4. Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "​Ancema icetoides​". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
5. Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 340. ISBN 978-8170192329.
6. Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation. p. 106.

References

• Beccaloni, George; Scoble, Malcolm; Kitching, Ian; Simonsen, Thomas; Robinson, Gaden; Pitkin, Brian; Hine, Adrian; Lyal, Chris. "The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex)". Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
• Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society.
• Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation.
• "Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera".
• Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 978-8170192329.
• Yutaka Inayoshi, A Check List of Butterflies in Indo-China, page on Family Lycaenidae (accessed 7 August 2007).