♂ (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 : N.W.India, Nepal, Sikkim to Myanmar, S.E.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: Sophonviwatkul et al.,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♂.

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

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

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Tak : 1♂.

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Chanthaburi : 1♂.

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The butterfly is locally not uncommon in forests at low to moderate elevations (400–1,100 m a.s.l.). Males are frequently observed mud-puddling along stream banks and at puddles.
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.
Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, London, 2(35): 279–290. ([early] Sep.1850)

Butler, A.G, 1869. Description of a New Species of Hestina, which mimics a Danais.
Transactions of the entomological Society of London, 17(1): 9–10.

Röber, J.K.M, 1927. Neue exotische Falter
Internationale Entomologische Zeitschrift, 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, Sapporo, i–xi + 358 pp., (172 pls.).

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

2007.09.20 - 2025.12.31.