Caerulea coeligena chengmaica Murayama, 1993

Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Up. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Un. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♀ Up. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♀ Un.
♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand. ♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Up. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Un. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♀ Up. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♀ Un.
♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand. ♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Up. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Un. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Up. Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Un.
♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand. ♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

ON : Caerulea coeligena chengmaica Murayama, 1993
OD : The Nature and Insects 28(9):34, fig.1(HT,♂),(PT,♀).
TL : Fang, Chengmai, N.Thailand.
Distribution : N.Thailand.
Caerulea coeligena chengmaica map

Synonym

Caerulea coeligena siamensis Schröder, 2006 : Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, N.F. 27(3):101, figs.11(HT,♂), 12(HT,♂Un), 13(PT,♀), 14(PT,♀Un). TL. Doi Pha Hom Pok, Chiang Mai. (ZMFK)


Type Material Information

chengmaica :
Holotype ♂, Mar.1992. Fang, Chengmai, North Thailand.
Paratype 1♀, same data as holotype.

siamensis :
Holotype ♂, Mar.2003. Doi Pha Hom Pok, Mae Ai, Phang [Fang] dist., Chiang Mai, North Thailand. Ihle leg. (ZMFK)
Paratypes 5♂ 3♀, same data as holotype. (ZFMK & in coll.Schröder)


Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Caerulea coeligena ; Eliot,1987 : 24. (Fang: Doi Pha Hom Pok)
Caerulea coeligena coelestis ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 592, pl.268, figs.L168,♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Doi Pha Hom Pok)
Caerulea coeligena coelestis ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 614, pl.278, figs.L184,♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Doi Pha Hom Pok)
Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ; Kimura et al.,2014 : 194, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Doi Pha Hom Pok)
Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2023- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Chiang Mai) (accessed: 2023.05.07)


Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Chiang Mai : 20♂ 5♀ (incl. photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


Notes

The butterfly is locally common in montane forests at high elevation (Alt. 2000 - 2200m). Both sexes visit flowers.
The host plat seems Gentiana sp. Based on the ecology of related species, it is assumed that the larvae are carried into the ant nest and grow there.
Huang & Cao (2019) placed this taxon as a subspecies of coelestis based on female markings and its isolated distribution. However, the ground color of the upper side of the male is closer to coeligena than coelestis. Therefore I tentatively use the conventional classification. Further taxonomic study is needed.


Literature

Murayama, S.,1993 : A butterfly of the Glaucopsyche-group from North Thailand.
The Nature and Insects 28(9):34. (in Japanese)

Schröder, S.,2006 : Some little known lycaenids from the Phang District of northern Thailand (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)
Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, N.F. 27(3):97-102.

Huang, H. & Cao, F.,2019 : A new species of Caerulea Forster,1938 from W.Guizhou (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)
Neue ent. Nachr. 78:256-364.


Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♀
♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand. ♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♀
♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand. ♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♀ Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♀
♀ (laying egg), Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Caerulea coeligena chengmaica ♂ Caerulea coeligena chengmaica eggs
♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand. eggs, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

1999.07.11 - 2023.06.30.

A Check list of Butterflies in Indo-China, Chiefly from THAILAND, LAOS & VIETNAM. Copyright © 1996- Y.Inayoshi.