The Indian Purple Emperor (Mimathyma ambica) is a species of Nymphalid

Nymphalidae

The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...

 butterfly found in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

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Male

Upperside brownish black; a broad white, inwardly oblique, discal band from vein 3 of the fore to vein 1 of the hind wing, this band bordered broadly on both sides by brilliant iridescent blue and meeting anteriorly 3 white outwardly oblique spots in interspaces 3, 4, 5 of fore wing. Three preapical small spots and an obscure subterminal series of dots on the fore, and a better defined, slightly curved, subterminal series of spots on the hind wing, all white, also on the latter wing an apical and a tornal fulvous-yellow spot. Underside pearly bluish white, the discal band and spots of the upperside showing through pinkish white, the discal spots and band on the fore wing bordered interiorly with black, and some black marks in the cell. Fore wing: an oblique somewhat sinuous postdiscal, and a more even broad terminal band rich brown, the former ending at the torn us in a fulvous-yellow patch bearing a black spot with some black outer markings, the latter white-spotted at the tornal angle. Hind wing with postdiscal straight and terminal broad bands of the same rich brown, a black white-bordered subtornal spot, and another in interspace 2 placed on the brown postdiscal band. Antennae brown; head, thorax and abdomen brown above, white beneath.

Female

Similar to the male with similar markings, but ground-colour above dusky brown, the markings yellowish white.

See also

• Nymphalidae
  Nymphalidae
  The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...
  
  
• List of butterflies of India
• List of Butterflies of India (Nymphalidae)