♂ (dsf), Nan, Thailand.		♀ (dsf), Nan, Thailand.
♂ (dsf), Chanthaburi, Thailand.		♀ (dsf), Nan, Thailand.
♂, Nan, Thailand.		♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
♂, Mae Hong Son, Thailand.		♂, Mae Hong Son, Thailand.
♂ (genitalia), Chiang Mai, Thailand.	♂ (genitalia), Mae Hong Son, Thailand.	♂ (genitalia), Nan, Thailand.	♂ (genitalia), Nan, Thailand.

ON : Diadema persimilis Westwood, 1850 OD : In: Doubleday, Gen. diurn. Lep. 2(35): 281. TL : Northern India. (NHML) Distribution : NW India, Nepal, Sikkim to Myanmar, SE Yunnan, Thailand. [Cambodia] ● ssp.persimilis ● ssp.

Hestina zella Butler, 1869 : Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 17(1): 9-10, text-fig. TL. 'Oriente (regione speciali incognitâ)'.
Hestina aporina Röber, 1927 : Int. ent. Z. 20: 421, fig.2,♀. TL. Sikkim.

persimilis : Syntype ♂, Rh.8993. N. India. designated by P.Ackery,1996. (NHML)

[ THAILAND ]
Diagora persimilis persimilis ; Pinratana,1979 : 95, fig.N163,♂,♂(Un). (Chiang Mai)
Hestina persimilis persimilis ; Pinratana & Eliot,1996 : 92, pl.69, fig.176,♂. (Chiang Mai)
Hestina persimilis persimilis ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 474, pl.211, fig.N189,♂. ('Doi Pha Hom Pok')
Hestina persimilis persimilis ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 494, pl.220, figs.N373,♂,♂(Un). ('Doi Pha Hom Pok')
Hestina persimilis persimilis ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2015- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Chiang Mai) (accessed: 2023.04.27)
Hestina persimilis persimilis ; Kimura et al.,2016 : 129, figs.♂,♂(Un),♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Chiang Dao)
Hestina persimilis ; Masui,2025 : 288, pl.134, figs.♂(ds),♂(ds,Un),♂(ws),♂(ws,Un). (Thailand)

[ CAMBODIA ]
'Diagora persimilis f. persimilis ; Dubois & Vitalis,1924 : 45. (Cambodge)'

[ THAILAND ]
Mae Hong Son : 7♂.

Jan

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Sep

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Dec

Chiang Mai : 5♂ (1♂ genitalia dissected).

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Nan : 11♂ 3♀ (2♂ genitalia dissected).

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Dec

Tak : 1♂.

Jan

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Chanthaburi : 1♂.

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Dec

The butterfly is locally not rare in montane forests at low to moderate elevations (Alt. 400 - 1100m). Males often come to the banks of streams and puddles to suck water.
The records from Doi Pha Hom Pok in Ek-Amnuay ([2007],2012) are doubtful.
Masui (2025) separated Hestina persimilis and Hestina japonica (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1862) based on male genitalia and the sympatric distribution of both species. He noted that they are sympatric in SE Yunnan, Laos, and N. Vietnam. However, there is considerable variation in genitalia, and the differences he noted are likely to fall within the range of variation for the same species. Thus, I will use the conventional classification until the results of a molecular analysis are obtained. Further taxonomic study, including molecular analysis, is needed.

Westwood, J.O.,1850 : In: Doubleday, E., The genera of diurnal Lepidoptera: comprising their generic characters, a notice of their habits and transformations, and a catalogue of the species of each genus.
2(35): 279-290 ([early] Sep.1850), London, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans.

Butler, A.G.,1869 : Description of a New Species of Hestina, which mimics a Danais.
Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 17(1): 9-10.

Röber, J.K.M.,1927 : Neue exotische Falter
Int. ent. Z. 20: 419-421.

Masui, A. & Inomata, T.,1997 : Apaturinae of the World (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) 8.
Yadoriga 170: 7-23. (in Japanese)

Masui, A.,2025 : Emperor Butterflies of the World. An illustrated Monograph of the Subfamily Apaturinae.
Hokkaido University Press. i-xi + 358 pp. (172 col.pls.)

♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand.	♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

2007.09.20 - 2025.12.31.