Rapala melida nicevillei

Rapala melida nicevillei Swinhoe, 1911


♂, Chanthaburi, Thailand.		♀, Chanthaburi, Thailand.

♂, Sa Kaeo, Thailand. (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul)		♂ (bred), Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

ON : Rapala nicevillei Swinhoe, 1911
OD : in Moore, Lep. Ind. 9:49-50, pl.716, figs.1,1a-b.
TL : Sylhet, Assam.

Distribution : Assam, Myanmar, S.E.Thailand, Laos,
S.Vietnam.

Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Rapala melida melida ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 716, pl.327, figs.L421,♂,♂(Un). (Chanthaburi) (in part)
Rapala melida melida ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 762, pl.350, figs.L442,♂,♂(Un). (Chanthaburi) (in part)
Rapala melida nicevillei ; Kimura et al.,2014 : 142, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Kao Soi Dao; Pliewn WF)
Rapala melida nicevillei ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2019- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Sa Kaeo; Nakhon Ratchasima; Nakhon Nayok) (accessed: 2024.06.09)

[ LAOS ]
Rapala elcia rhoecus ; Motono & Negishi,1989 : 77, pl.109, figs.A3,♂,A4,♂(Un). (Vang Vieng)
Rapala melida nicevillei ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 56.

[ VIETNAM ]
Rapala melida nicevillei ; Miyazaki, Saito & Saito,2006d : 68, figs.L-138,♂,♀. (Lam Dong: Dambri; Dai Duc Me)
Rapala melida nicevillei ; Monastyrskii & Devyatkin,2015 : 69. (by literature)

Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Sa Kaeo : 1♂ (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul).

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

Nakhon Nayok : 1♂ 1♀ (photo by M.Hayashi and S.Sophonviwatkul).

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

Chanthaburi : 4♂ 2♀.

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

[ VIETNAM ]
Lam Dong : 8♂ 2♀.

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

Notes

The butterfly is uncommon in montane forests at low elevations (Alt. 200 - 300m).
My female specimen from Nan that was figured in Ek-Amnuay,[2007],2012 as Rapala melida nicevillei was a misidentification of Rapala rhoecus. In Thailand, this species is known only from the southeastern to eastern regions so far.

Literature

Swinhoe, C.,1911-1912: in Moore, Lepidoptera Indica. vol.IX. Rhopalocera, Family Lycaenidae.
9:1-144,1911 ; 145-278,1912. L.Reeve & Co., London.

Takanami, Y.,1998 : Genus Rapala (Lycaenidae) of the Southeast Asian Islands.
Butterflies 19:41-57, 5 pls. (in Japanese)


♂, Sa Kaeo, Thailand. (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul)	♂, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul)

♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by M.Hayashi)	♀ (laying egg), Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by M.Hayashi)

1999.07.21 - 2024.06.30.