Capila phanaeus falta  Evans, 1949

Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Up. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Un. Capila phanaeus falta ♀ Up. Capila phanaeus falta ♀ Un.
♂, Ranong, Thailand. ♀, Ranong, Thailand.
Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Up. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Un. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Up. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Un.
♂, Ranong, Thailand. ♂, Trang, Thailand.
Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Up. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Un. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Up. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Un.
♂, Ranong, Thailand. ♂, Ranong, Thailand.

Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Up. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Un. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Up. Capila phanaeus falta ♂ Un.
♂, Chanthaburi, Thailand. ♂, Trat, Thailand.

ON : Capila phanaeus falta Evans, 1949
OD : Cat. Hesp. Europ. Asia Austr. Brit. Mus. : 85.
TL : Tavoy. (NHML)
Distribution : Myanmar (Ataran, Salween, Tavoy, Merugui),
Thailand, Cambodia.
● ssp.lalita ssp.flora
ssp.fulva ssp.decoloris
ssp.falta ssp.ferrea
unclear (fulva or falta)
Capila phanaeus falta map

Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Orthophaetus lalita ; Godfrey,1916 : 141. (Chonburi: Hup Bon)
Orthophaetus phanaeus phanaeus ; Godfrey,1932a : 274. (Trang: Ko Libong)
Capila phanaeus falta ; Evans,1949 : 85. (Krabin Bankeoung; Chanthaburi: Khao Sabab; Chanthaburi)
Capila phanaeus fulva ; Pinratana,1985 : 25, pl.9, fig.29c♂. (Trang)
Capila phanaeus falta ; Kimura,1996 : 19, pl.1, figs.11,♂,12,♂(Un),13,♀,14,♀(Un). (Trang: Ka Chong; Ranong: Khlong Naka)
Capila phanaeus fulva ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 744, pl.341, figs.H34c♂,♀. (Trang)
Capila phanaeus falta ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 744, pl.341, fig.H34d♂. (Ranong)
Capila phanaeus falta ; Kimura et al.,2011 : 31, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Khlong Naka; Ka Chong)
Capila phanaeus falta ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 790, pl.365, figs.H33c♂,♀,♂. (Ranong; Trang)
Capila phanaeus falta ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2015- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Chanthaburi) (accessed: 2023.03.26)

[ CAMBODIA ]
Capila phanaeus falta ; Chartier & Kosterin,2022 : 124, fig.6K,♂. (Koh Kong)


Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Ranong : 5♂ 1♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Trang : 1♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

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

Trat : 1♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


Notes

The butterfly is locally not rare in montane forests at low to moderate elevations (Alt. 10 - 800m). They often fly out from bushes along the trail and rest on the underside of leaves with their wings spread.
The population in the Ranong area is highly variable in ground color on the upper side. This seems to be the transitional population from ssp.fulva to ssp.ferrea as noted by Evans,1949.
The populations from S.E.Thailand and S.Cambodia are surprisingly similar to the population from Peninsular Thailand, rather than the neighbouring ssp.decoloris. Here it is provisionally included in this taxon, as in Evans,1949, but there are differences in size and markings. It is probably a separate subspecies. Further taxonomic study is needed.

The taxonomy of this species is very confusing. This is due to the extremely high geographical, individual and seasonal variation of the species. It has been tentatively re-examined, including subsequent findings. However, there is still a lack of specimens from each location and the classification is likely to change in the future.


Literature

Evans, W.H.,1949 : A catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia and Australia in the British Museum (Natural History).
i-xix+1-502, pls.1-35. London.


Capila phanaeus falta ♂
♂, Chanthaburi, Thailand. (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul)

1999.07.31 - 2023.04.30.

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