Virachola rubida

Virachola rubida (Tytler, 1926)


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

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

♂ genitalia, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

ON : Rapala rubida Tytler, 1926
OD : J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 31(3):590, pl.1, fig.18,♂.
TL : "Naga Hills" [Nagaland, NE.India].

Distribution : Nagaland, Myanmar (N.Shan States), N.Thailand.

Synonym

Virachola rosacea Tytler, 1915 : J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 24(1):138. TL. "Naga Hills" [Nagaland, NE.India]. (homonym)
Rapala prorosacea Tytler, 1926 : J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 31(3):590. (Unavailable name)

Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Virachola rubida ; Pinratana,1981 : 145, pl.33, figs.12,♂,13,♂(Un), shown as Rapala nissa ranta. (no loc. [Doi Suthep])
Ralapa rubida ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 710, pl.324, figs.L406,♂,♂(Un). (Doi Suthep)
Virachola rubida ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 752, pl.345, figs.L423,♂,♂(Un). (Doi Suthep)
Virachola rubida ; Kimura et al.,2014 : 134, figs.♂,♂(Un). (Doi Suthep)

Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Chiang Mai : 10♂ 2♀ (incl. photo and photo by D.Sargeant), (1♂ genitalia dissected).

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

Notes

Only one record of the species was known from Thailand (1♂, 20.Mar.1977, Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai. S.Yamaguchi & T.Aoki) for 42 years. In 2019-20, it was rediscovered in several districts of Chiang Mai province. The butterfly is locally not rare in semi-dried montane forests at moderate elevations (Alt. 700 - 900m) and is often found around hilltops. Males are territorial on trees.

Literature

Tytler, H.C.,1915 : Notes on some new and interesting Butterflies from Manipur and the Naga Hills.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 24(1):119-155, pls.3,4, 29 figs.

Tytler, H.C.,1926 : Notes on some new and interesting Butterflies from India and Burma
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 31:248-260, pl.1,4 ; (3):579-590, pl.2, 3-5.


♂ (territorial behavior), Chiang Mai, Thailand.

♂ (territorial behavior), Chiang Mai, Thailand.	♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

♂ (territorial behavior), Chiang Mai, Thailand.	♂ (territorial behavior), Chiang Mai, Thailand.

♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand. (photo by D.Sargeant)

1999.07.21 - 2024.07.31.