Arhopala comica comica

Arhopala comica comica Nicéville, 1900


♂, Houaphan, Laos. (poto by K.Saito)		♀, Houaphan, Laos. (poto by K.Saito)

ON : Arrhopala [sic] comica Nicéville,1900
OD : J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 13(1):170, pl.EE, fig.18,♀,♀(Un).
TL : Lwe Long, near Bhamo, "Upper Burma" [Myanmar]. (NZC)

Distribution : Manipur, Myanmar, N.Thailand, Laos.

	● ssp.comica
	● ssp.ignorans

Synonym

Surendra learmondii Tytler,1940 : J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 42(1):122. TL. Loimwe, S.Shan States, [Myanmar]. (NHML)

Type Material Information

comica ; Holotype ,♀, 12.Mar.1898. Lwe Long, near Bhamo, Upper Burma, 5000ft. (NZC) ; Sheela et al.,2019 : 88, figs.♀,♀(Un).

Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Narathura comica ; Evans,1957 : 123. ('Siam: Tukdah')
Arhopala comica ; D'Abrera,1986 : 580. ('Tukdah')
'Arhopala comica ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 634, pl.288, fig.L258,♀(Laos).'
'Arhopala comica ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 668, pl.304, fig.L282,♂[♀](Laos).'
'Arhopala comica ; Kimura et al.,2014 : 76. (by literature)'
Arhopala comica comica ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2023- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Chiang Mai) (accessed: 2023.05.16)

[ LAOS ]
Arhopala comica ; Osada, Uémura & Uehara,1999 : 217, pl.118, fig.♀. (Xam Neua)
Arhopala comica ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 54, pl.19, fig.Ly-175,♀,♀(Un). (Houa Phan: Ban Saleui)

Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Chiang Mai : Mae Chaem dist., 2022.12.29. 1♂ (photo by Y.Inayoshi & M.Hayashi).

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

[ LAOS ]
Houaphan : 1♂ 1♀.

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

Notes

Evans (1957) recorded a single male based on a specimen in the NHML from 'Tukdah, Siam' and D'Abrera,1986 followed this. However, I could not find the place name Tukdah. Perhaps it is an old or changed place name. Another possibility is that there is a locality name Tukdah in the vicinity of Darjeeling, West Bengal in India, and I suspect it could have been taken there.
Putting that aside, the species was found in Chiang Mai, N.Thailand on 29.Dec.2022 by Y.Inayoshi & Masakazu Hayashi. This is a definite record from Thailand. Although only photos in nature were taken and no specimen was obtained, it seems to belong to the nominotypical subspecies.

Literature

Nicéville, L. de,1900 : On new and little-known Lepidoptera from the Oriental Region.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 13(1):157-175, pl.CC,DD,EE.

Tytler, H.,1940 : Notes on Some New and Interesting Butterflies chiefly from Burma. Part.2.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 42:109-123.

D'Abrera B.,1986 : Butterflies of the Oriental Region. Part III
Hill House, Australia.


♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand. (photo by M.Hayashi)	♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

1999.07.18 - 2023.06.30.