Famegana nisa

Famegana nisa (Wallace, 1866)


♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. (photo by K.Yano)		♀, Phetchaburi, Thailand. (photo by K.Yano)

♂, Surat Thani (Koh Tao), Thailand. (photo by P.Kosierb)		♀, Surat Thani (Koh Tao), Thailand. (photo by P.Kosierb)

♂, Xiang Khouang, Laos. (photo by K.Saito)		♂, Xiang Khouang, Laos. (photo by K.Saito)

ON : Lycaena nisa Wallace, 1866
OD : Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1866:360-361.
TL : 'Takaw, Formosa [Taiwan]' (NHML).

Distribution : Thainand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, S.China, Taiwan, Philippines, Sulawesi, Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga.

Synonyms
(--- The taxon marked with an asterisk is cited from other literature and I have not been able to confirm the original description.)

Lycaena alsulus Herrich-Schaffer, 1869 : Stettin ent. Ztg. 30(1-3):75. TL. Rockhampton and Upolu, [Australia].
Lycaena exilis Lucas, 1889 : Proc. R. soc. Qd. 6(4):159-160, figs.13-15. TL. Cooktown to Bowen, [Australia]. (Homonym)
Lycaena lulu Mathew, 1889 : Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 1889(2):312-314. TL. Tongatabu, [Tonga].
Lycaena gracilis Miskin, 1890 : Proc. linn. Soc. N.S.Wales (2)5(1):37. TL. Brisbane to Cooktown, [Australia].
* Lycaena exiloides Lucas, 1891 : Proc. R. soc. Qd. 7(1):47. Replacement name for Lycaena exilis.
Zizera kalawarus Ribbe, 1926 : Ent. Mitt. 15(1):91. TL. "Celebes" [Sulawesi].
* Zizera taiwana Sonan, 1938 : Zephyrus 7:254. TL. 'Inrin, Formosa [Taiwan]'. (NHML)
Zizeeria alsulus eggletoni Corbet, 1941 : Hongkong Nat. 10(3/4) : 150-151. TL. Hong Kong. (NHML)

Type Materials Information

nisa ; Lectotype ♀, Formosa. designated by Hsu,2020. (NHML)
taiwana ; Holotype ♂, 1932.x.30. Inrin. (NHML) ; Allotype ♀, same data as holotype (NHML) ; Paratype 1♀, same data as holotype (NHML)
eggletoni ; Holotype ♂, 1914.ix.5. Hong Kong dist., New Territory. R.W.Barney (NHML) ; Paratype 1♂, same data as holotype (NHML)

Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Femegana alsulus ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 570, 718, fig.52. (Nakhon Si Thammarat; Samui)
Famegana alsulus eggletoni ; Les Day,2011-2022 : Samui Butterflies, fig.[♂](Un). (Koh Samui; Koh Phangan) (accessed: 2021.01.30)
Famegana alsulus eggletoni ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 589, pl.267, figs.L128,♂,♂(Un),♀. (Nakhon Si Thammarat; Samui; Phetchaburi)
Famegana alsulus eggletoni ; Kimura et al.,2014 : 182. (by literature)
Famegana nisa ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2022- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Rayong; Phetchaburi) (accessed: 2023.03.26)

[ LAOS ]
Famegana alsulus eggletoni ; Osada, Uémura & Uehara,1999 : 215, pl.108, figs.♂,♀(Un). (Xiang Khouang)
Famegana alsulus eggletoni ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 52.
Famegana alsulus eggletoni ; Onodera,2022 : 74, pl.206, figs.♂,♂(Un). (Xiengkhouang: Plain of Jars)

[ CAMBODIA ]
Famegana nisa ; Chartier & Kosterin,2022 : 121, fig.4A. (Siem Reap)

[ VIETNAM ]
Famegana alsulus ; Monastyrskii,2005b : 158. (Kon Tum: Ngoc Linh)
Famegana alsulus eggletoni ; Miyazaki et al.,2010 : 28, figs.L-163,♂,♀. (Phan Thiet)
Famegana alsulus ; Monastyrskii & Devyatkin,2015 : 52. (C: Ninh Thuan)
Famegana alsulus eggletoni ; Saito et al.,2017 : 80. (S: Nui Coto)

Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Rayong : 1♂ 2♀ (photo by R.Jennarongsak).

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Phetchaburi : 10♂ 3♀ (incl. photo by T.Aoyama).

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Surat Thani (Koh Tao ; Koh Phangan) : 3♂ 2♀ (incl. photo by A.Giudici).

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

[ LAOS ]
Xiang Khouang : 4♂.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Notes

This is a very localized species. The butterfly is found in wasteland or open areas at low elevations, especially on islands and seashores. Both sexes visit flowers.

Literature

Wallace A.R. & Moore, F.,1866 : List of Lepidopterous insects collected at Takaw, Formosa, by Mr.Robert Swinhoe
Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1866:355-365.

Herrich-Schaffer, G.A.W.,1869 : Neue Schmetterlinge aus dem "Museum Godeffroy" in Hamburg
Stettin ent. Ztg. 30(1-3):65-80, pls.1-4.

Lucas, F.H.,1889 : Six new species of Rhopalocera.
Proc. R. soc. Qd. 6(4):155-161.

Mathew, G.F.,1889 : Descriptions and life-histories of new species of Rhopalocera from the Western Pacific
Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 1889(2):311-315.

Miskin, W.H.,1890 : Descriptions of hitherto undescribed Australian Lepidoptera (Rhopalocera), principally Lycaenidae
Proc. linn. Soc. N.S.Wales (2)5(1):29-43.

Ribbe, C.,1926 : Neue Lycaenenformen hauptsachlich von Celebes (Lep.: Lycaenidae).
Ent. Mitt. 15(1):78-91.

Corbet, A.S.,1941 : A List of the Butterflies of Hong Kong (3).
Hongkong Nat. 10(3/4):148-165A, 166, 5 figs, 1 pl.

Hsu, Y.F.,2020 : The identity of Alfred Wallace's mysterious butterfly taxon Lycaena nisa solved: Famegana nisa comb. nov., a senior synonym of F.alsulus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae)
ZooKeys 966:153-162.


♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)	♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)

♂, Surat Thani (Koh Phangan), Thailand. (photo by A.Giudici)	Surat Thani (Koh Phangan), Thailand. (photo by A.Giudici)

♀+♂, Surat Thani (Koh Phangan), Thailand. (photo by A.Giudici)	♂, Surat Thani (Koh Phangan), Thailand. (photo by A.Giudici)

2009.03.10 - 2024.06.30.