Mycalesis mestra, the White-edged Bushbrown, is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of satyrine

Satyrinae

Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the Browns, is a subfamily of the Nymphalidae . They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diversity of brush-footed butterflies...

 butterfly

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...

 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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Description

Upperside very dark Vandyke-brown, the cilia conspicuously white, the transverse white discal band of the underside showing through on both fore and hind wing, but very plainly on the latter. Forewing with a white-centred, fulvous-ringed, median, and a similar but much smaller subapical eyespot, the latter very often absent; broad but faint and ill-defined sub-terminal and terminal white lines. Hind wing: a subtornal ocellus similar to those on the fore wing and much more conspicuous; subterminal and terminal whitish lines. Underside: ground-colour similar; basal half of wings closely irrorated with pale transverse stripe; a conspicuous white discal band, inwardly sharply defined, outwardly diffused, followed by series of ocelli similar to the ocelli on the upperside, a median and two subapicai on the fore wing, three subapical and three tornal on the hind wing : the number of these ocelli is variable, sometimes one or more additional ocelli are present, often one or more are lacking on the hind wing; finally, the subterminal and terminal white bands as on the upperside but better defined. Antenna:, head, thorax and abdomen brown; antennae annulated with white, ochraceous at apex. Male sex-mark in form 2.

Mycalesis suaveolens, W.-M. & de N. resembles M. mestra, but differs constantly as follows: Upperside groundcolour a brighter, more ruddy brown ; cilia white tinged with ochraceous; the discal, subterminal and terminal bands on the underside showing through much more faintly than in M. mestra; the number of ocelli very variable. Underside: basal area uniform, with no trace of the pale transverse striae ; white discal band narrower, subterminal and terminal bands brownish white.