Udara lanka
Encyclopedia
The Ceylon Hedge Blue Udara lanka is a small butterfly
found in Sri Lanka
that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues
family.
Female. Upperside: differs from the male in the ground-colour which is slightly paler and on the fore wing by the very broad costal and terminal blackish -brown border; on the hind wing by the similar border to the costal margin, the slightly broader black anticiliary line and a posterior subterminal series of somewhat indistinct black spots. Underside, antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male.
and later as Polyommatus lanka.
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 Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
that belongs to the Lycaenids or Blues
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family.
Description
Male upperside: uniform purplish-blue; an extremely narrow bordering of black to the termen of both the fore and hind wings present in a few specimens, absent in most; also the hind wing is slightly shaded with dusky black along the costa. Underside: shining silvery white. Fore and hind wings with the usual Cyaniris markings but the postdiscal transverse series of abbreviated pale brown lines on the former almost in line one with the other, the whole series placed slightly obliquely on the wing and appreciably curved. On the hind wing the markings are small and regular, the lower discal series of spots bisinuate. The transverse lunular line beyond the discal markings that is comparatively distinct in most forms, is in this barely indicated on both fore and hind wings. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen dusky black; beneath : the palpi, thorax and abdomen snow-white.Female. Upperside: differs from the male in the ground-colour which is slightly paler and on the fore wing by the very broad costal and terminal blackish -brown border; on the hind wing by the similar border to the costal margin, the slightly broader black anticiliary line and a posterior subterminal series of somewhat indistinct black spots. Underside, antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male.
Taxonomy
The butterfly was earlier known as Lycaenopsis lanka MooreFrederic Moore
Frederic Moore FZS was a British entomologist. It has been said that Moore was born at 33 Bruton Street but may be incorrect given that this was the address of the menagerie and office of the Zoological Society of London from 1826 to 1836.Moore was appointed an assistant in the East India Company...
and later as Polyommatus lanka.
See also
- LycaenidaeLycaenidaeThe Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
- List of butterflies of India
- List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)