Horaga albimacula viola

Horaga albimacula viola Moore, 1882


♀ (bred), 2023.09.17. Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

ON : Horaga viola Moore, 1882
OD : Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1882(1):248.
TL : "Dharmsala" [Kangra, N.India]. (NHML)

Distribution : Sri Lanka, S.India, N.W.India, Sikkim, Assam, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos.

	● ssp.viola
	● ssp.insulana

Type Material Information

Lectotype ♀, Kangra. det. by Cowan. (NHML)

Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Horaga albimacula viola ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2023- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Nakhon Nayok) (accessed: 2023.11.27)

[ LAOS ]
Horaga albimacula viola ; Nakamura et al.,2009 : 24, figs.4,♂,♂(Un). (Vientiane)
Horaga albimacula viola ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 55, pl.21, figs.Ly-215,♂,♂(Un). (Vientiane)

Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Nakhon Nayok : 2023.09.17. 1♀, S.Sophonviwatkul (YI).

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

Notes

This is the first reliable record from Thailand. Supat Sophonviwatkul found a larva in Nakhon Nayok. In appearance, it is quite similar to Horaga chalcedonyx, but the larvae and pupae are completely different.
I consider that the taxon viola can be divided into three taxa, as mentioned by Eliot (1986): the populations from Sri Lanka and South India, the nominotypical subspecies from Kashmir, and the populations from Sikkim to the Indochina area. In the populations from Indochina, males have a relatively small white spot and lack blue scales on the UpF. On the other hand, females have blue scales on the upper side. From this point of view, ssp.insulana could apply to the population of Indochina.
The species can only be distinguished from Horaga chalcedonyx by an examination of the male genitalia. Further taxonomic and distributional studies are needed.

Literature

Moore, F.,1882 : List of the Lepidoptera coleected by the Rev.J.H.Hocking chiefly in the Kangra District., N.W.Himalaya;
with Descriptions of new Genera and Species.
Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1882(1):234-263, pls.11,12.

Cowan, C.F.,1966 : Indo-oriental Horagini (Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae).
Bull. Brit. Mus. nat. Hist. (Ent.) 18(4):103-141, 3 pls.

Eliot, J.N.,1986 : The Horaga albimacula Complex (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)
Tyô to Ga 36(3):107-111.


♀ (bred), 2023.09.17. Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul)

2009.11.30 - 2023.11.30.