Chilades lajus tavoyana

Chilades lajus tavoyana Evans, 1925


♂, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.		♂, Surat Thani (Koh Tao), Thailand. (photo by P.Kosierb)

♂, Surat Thani (Koh Tao), Thailand. (photo by P.Kosierb)		♂, Surat Thani (Koh Tao), Thailand. (photo by P.Kosierb)

ON : Chilades lajus tavoyana Evans, 1925
OD : J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 30(2):344.
TL : Kanbauk, Tavoy, Burma. (♂, NHML)

Distribution : S.Myanmar, P.Thailand, Langkawi,
W.Malaysia (Kedah).

	● ssp.lajus
	● ssp.tavoyana

Type Materials Information

Lectotype ♂, BMNH(E)#264384, Kanbauk, Tavoy. 26.11.'20. W.H.Evans. designated by Balint,1999 (NHML)
Paralectotypes 1♂ 2♀. Tavoy, Burma. designated by Balint,1999 (NHML)

Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Chilades lajus lajus ; Pinratana,1981 : 53. (Prachuap; Krabi) (in part)
Chilades lajus tavoyanus ; Pinratana,1981 : 53, pl.8, figs.2,♂,3,♀,4,♂(Un). (Phuket; Prachuab Kiri Khan; Satun) (in part)
Chilades lajus tavoyanus ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 570, pl.258, figs.L105b[L106b],♀,♀(Un). (Prachuab Khiri Khan)
Chilades lajus tavoyanus ; Les Day,2011-2022 : Butterflies of Koh Samui, figs.♂,♀,['♀'](Un). (Koh Samui) (accessed: 2021.01.30)
Chilades lajus tavoyanus ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 590, pl.267, figs.L131b♀,♀(Un). (Prachuab Khiri Khan)
Chilades lajus tavoyanus ; Kimura et al.,2014 : 196, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Koh Samui; Satun; Sonkhla)

Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Surat Thani (Koh Tao ; Koh Phangan) : 5♂ (incl. photo by A.Giudici).

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

Nakhon Si Thammarat : 1♂.

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

Notes

The butterfly is locally not rare in citrus plantations or gardens at low elevations (Alt. 10m - 350m). Both sexes visit flowers and males occasionally come to the banks of streams and puddles to suck water.
The identification and distribution of the nominotypical subspecies and ssp.tavoyanus in Thailand is still unclear. I tentatively follow Kimura et al.,2014, but the populations from S.E.Thailand and Phetchaburi, P.Thailand may be ssp.tavoyanus. Further taxonomic study with a large number of specimens from different localities is needed.

Literature

Evans, W.H.,1925 : The Identification of Indian Butterflies. Part VI.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 30(2):322- 351, 2 pls.

Balint, Z.,1999 : Annotated list of type specimens of Polyommatus sensu Eliot of the Natural History Museum, London (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)
Neue ent. Nachr. 46:1-89.


♂, Surat Thani (Koh Phangan), Thailand. (photo by A.Giudici)	♂, Surat Thani (Koh Phangan), Thailand. (photo by A.Giudici)

1999.07.04 - 2023.04.30.