Cepora iudith lea (Doubleday, 1846)

Cepora iudith lea ♂ Up. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Un. Cepora iudith lea ♀ Up. Cepora iudith lea ♀ Un.
♂, Chaiyaphum, Thailand. ♀, Chaiyaphum, Thailand.
Cepora iudith lea ♂ Up. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Un. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Up. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Un.
♂, Chanthaburi, Thailand. ♂, Chanthaburi, Thailand.
Cepora iudith lea ♂ Up. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Un. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Up. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Un.
♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. ♂, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand.
Cepora iudith lea ♂ Up. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Un. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Up. Cepora iudith lea ♂ Un.
♂, Chonburi, Thailand. ♂ (var? hybrid?), Phetchabun, Thailand.

ON : Pieris lea Doubleday, 1846
OD : Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (1)17:23-24.
TL : "Moulmein" [Mawlamyine, Myanmar] ;
'Sarawak'. (NHML)
Distribution : Myanmar, Thailand, Laos,
Cambodia, Vietnam.
● ssp.lea
ssp.malaya
Cepora iudith lea Map

Synonym

Pieris lea continentalis Röber, 1927 : Int. ent. Z. 20:401-402. TL. "Birma" [N.Myanmar]. (NHML)


Type Materials Information

lea ; 1♂ 1♀, Type (red), Moulmein. (NHML, examined)
continentalis ; ♂, Type HT (red), North Birma. (NHML, examined) ; ♀, Type AT (red), North Birma. (NHML, examined)


Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Huphina lea siamensis ; Fruhstorfer,1910 : 145. (Siam)
Huphina lea siamensis ; Godfrey,1916 : 114.
Huphina lea siamensis ; Godfrey,1930 : 224. ('Prae'; Pak Jong; Chonburi: Sriracha)
Cepora judith lea ; Pinratana,1983 : 14, pl.12, figs.24a♂,♀. (Chaiyaphum; Chanthaburi; Chonburi; Uthai Thani; Nakhon Nayok; Nakhon Ratchasima; Saraburi; Petchaburi; Prachuap Khiri Khan)
Cepora iudith siamensis ; Yamaguchi & Aoki,2000 : 252, fig.48,♂. (Mukdahan: Phu Mu)
Cepora iudith siamensis ; Yamaguchi & Aoki,2002 : 18. (Ubon Ratchathani: Kaeng E-Keow)
Cepora iudith siamensis ; Yamaguchi, Aoki & Akiyama,2005 : 46. (Mukdahan: Nam Tok Tad Ton)
Cepora iudith lea ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 146, pl.45, figs.Pi26a♂,♂(Un),♀. (Khao Yai; Chaiyaphum; Chanthaburi)
Cepora iudith siamensis ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 146, not fig. (Mukdahan)
'Cepora iudith malaya ; Les Day,2011-2022 : Samui Butterflies, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀. (Koh Samui) (accessed: 2022.08.03)'
Cepora iudith lea ; Kimura et al.,2011 : 163, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Thung Saleng Luang; Phu Khiewo; Saraburi; Sarika; Nakohn Nayok; Wan Nam Khiewo; Kao Khiewo; Kao Soi Dao; Sai York Noi; Erawan; Wang Kheo; Kaeng Krachan; Hua Hin)
Cepora iudith lea ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 146, pl.45, figs.Pi26a♂,♂(Un),♀. (Khao Yai; Chaiyaphum; Chanthaburi; Mukdahan)
Cepora iudith lea ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2015- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Sa Kaeo; Saraburi; Chonburi; Phetchaburi) (accessed: 2023.03.27)
Cepora iudith lea ; Chaianunporn & Chaianunporn,2019 : 87. (Chaiyaphum: Chulabhorn Dam)

[ LAOS ]
Huphina lea f. lea ; Dubois & Vitalis,1921 : 19. (Vientiane, Ban Sou Mon)
Cepora iudith siamensis ; Motono & Negishi,1989 : 49, pl.20, figs.1,♂,2,♂(Un). (Tha Ngone; Vientiane)
Cepora iudith siamensis ; Osada, Uémura & Uehara,1999 : 202, pl.33, figs.♂,♂(Un). (Thakhek; Vientiane)
Cepora iudith lea ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 42.
Cepora iudith lea ; Onodera,2022 : 15, pl.63, figs.♂,♂(Un). (Champasak: Dong Huasao)

[ CAMBODIA ]
Huphina lea ; Vitalis,1919 : 218. (Cambodge)
Cepora iudith ; Onodera,2007 : 29, fig.11♀. (Siem Reap: Angkor)
Cepora iudith ; Monastyrskii et al.,2011 : 128. (Phnom Samkos W.S.)
Cepora iudith lea ; Kosterin,2019b : 26. (Ratanakiri)
Cepora iudith lea ; Kosterin,2020 : 313. (Siem Reap; Stueng Treng)
Cepora iudith lea ; Chartier & Kosterin,2022 : 114. (Pursat; Ratanakiri; Siem Reap; Stueng Treng)

[ VIETNAM ]
Huphina lea lea ; Metaye,1957 : 85. (S)
Cepora iudith lea ; Miyazaki, Saito & Saito,2006 : 11, fig.Pi-8,♂. (Bin Thuan: Dong Tien)
Cepora iudith lea ; Miyazaki et al.,2010 : 20, fig.Pi-8,♀. (Bin Thuan: Dong Tien)
Cepora iudith lea ; Monastyrskii & Devyatkin,2015 : 16. (S)


Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Phetchabun : 1♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Chaiyaphum : 2♂ 1♀ (incl. photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Nakhon Nayok : 1♂ (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Chonburi : 2♂ (incl. photo by S.Sophonviwatkul).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Chanthaburi : 10♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Trat : 4♂ (incl. photo by E.Ikari).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Phetchaburi : 3♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Prachuap Khiri Khan : 1♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


Notes

The butterfly is locally common in montane forests at low to moderate elevations (Alt. 10 - 900m). Both sexes visit flowers, and males frequently come to the banks of streams and puddles to suck water.
The differences between the continental and peninsular subspecies are not so notable, and considering the range of variation between the two subspecies, these are likely to be indistinguishable as D'Abrera (1982) pointed out. I tentatively separate the two subspecies here, but further taxonomic study is needed.
The male specimen from Phetchabun shown above is a rather strange individual. The underside is definitely iudith, but the upperside is very similar to Cepora nadina. Possibly a hybrid with Cepora nadina.


Literature

Doubleday, E.,1846 : Descriptions of new or imperfectly described Diurnal Lepidoptera.
Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (1)17:22-26.

Röber, J.,1927 : Neue exotische Falter
Int. ent. Z. 20(44):400-403.

D'Abrera, B.,1982 : Butterflies of the Oriental Region Part 1 Papilionidae, Pieridae & Danaidae
xxi + 244pp, Hill House, Australia.


Cepora iudith lea ♂ Cepora iudith lea ♂
♂, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul) ♂, Chonburi, Thailand. (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul)
Cepora iudith lea ♂ Cepora iudith lea ♂
♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama) ♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)

1996.10.31 - 2024.04.30.

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