Bibasis gomata
Encyclopedia
Bibasis gomata, commonly known as the Pale Green Awlet, is a butterfly
belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Northeast India, the Western Ghats
and parts of Southeast Asia
. The butterfly has been reassigned to genus Burara vide Vane-Wright and de Jong (2003) and is now known as Burara gomata.
, Myanmar
, Malay peninsula, Philippines
, and the Indonesia
n archipelago. In India
, the butterfly is found in South India
up to North Kanara
, and along the Himalayas
from Sikkim
to Assam
and eastwards to Myanmar
.
The type locality is Darjeeling in Northeast Bengal
.
The butterfly has a wingspan of 50 to 55 mm.
Watson (1891) gives a detailed description:
spp.
Print
(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. 2nd Ed, (i to x, pp454, Plates I to XXXII), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India. (1891) Hesperiidae indicae. Vest and Co. Madras.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Northeast India, the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
and parts of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. The butterfly has been reassigned to genus Burara vide Vane-Wright and de Jong (2003) and is now known as Burara gomata.
Range
The Pale Green Awlet ranges from IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Malay peninsula, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n archipelago. In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the butterfly is found in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
up to North Kanara
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, and along the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
from Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
to Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
and eastwards to Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
.
The type locality is Darjeeling in Northeast Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
.
Description
- See glossaryGlossary of Lepidopteran termsThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....
for terms used
The butterfly has a wingspan of 50 to 55 mm.
Watson (1891) gives a detailed description:
- Male. Upperside pale vinaceous brown ; both wings with pale brownish yellow streaks longitudinally between the veins. Abdomen blackish brown with yellowish bands. Cilia yellowish. Underside dark brown, with the veins and longitudinal streaks between them greyish green, the brown showing only along each side t>f the veins; posterior margin of forewing broadly pale vinaceous; exterior margin of both wings defined by a brown line. Third joint of palpi and edge of sides brown, the rest yellow. Thorax, legs and abdomen beneath orange yellow.
- Female. Expanse 2.3 inches. Upperside very dark glossy bronzygreen, shading off into glossy indigo- blue at the apex and outer margin. Underside with the markings and ground-colour darker than in Sikkim males ; forewing with a pale green spot in the second median interspace, with a larger one in the interspace below it, in the male these spots are merged in a large patch of the ochreous ground-colour from the inner margin. The green markings everywhere more restricted and of a darker shade than in the male.
Host-plants
The larva has been recorded on Schefflera lurida, Schefflera octophylla, Trevesia sundaica, Embelia garciniaefolia and HorsfieldiaHorsfieldia
Horsfieldia is a name of plant genus native to South East Asia.The name is also a synonym for other plants from genera in the families Araliaceae and Gesneriaceae. The genus consists of evergreen trees. The species have dispersed or distichous leaves which are thinly leathery, often glabrous. The...
spp.