♂, 2010.05.04. Ba Ho WF., Khanh Hoa, Vietnam. Holotype (photo by K.Saito)		♀, 2010.05.04-06. Ba Ho WF., Khanh Hoa, Vietnam. Paratype (photo by K.Saito)

♀, 2017.10.01. Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.		♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

ON : Rapala persephone Saito, 2011 OD : Butterflies (Teinopalpus) 58:14-15, fig.1A-B(HT,♂), 2A-B(PT,♀), 4A-C(♂genitalia). TL : Khanh Hoa, C.Vietnam. Distribution : Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Yunnan.

Holotype ♂, 4.May.2010. Ba Ho waterfalls, Ninh Ich, Ninh Hoa, Khanh Hoa, C.Vietnam. K.Saito leg. (in coll. K.Saito; The holotype will be preserved in RIEB)
Paratypes ; 44♂ 23♀, 4-6,May.2010. same locality as holotype. K.Saito leg.

[ THAILAND ]
Rapala persephone ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2024- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Nakhon Nayok) (accessed: 2024.06.09)

[ LAOS ]
Rapala hades ; Osada, Uémura & Uehara,1999 : 219. pl.128, figs.♀(Un). (Lak Sao)
Rapala persephone ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 56.

[ CAMBODIA ]
Rapala hades ; Onodera,2009 : 40, figs.♀,♀(Un). (Siem Reap: Phnum Kulen)
Rapala persephone ; Onodera,2022 : 129, pl.267, figs.♀,♀(Un). (Siem Reap: Phnum Kulen)
Rapala persephone ; Chartier & Kosterin,2022 : 124. (Siem Reap)

[ VIETNAM ]
Rapala persephone ; Monastyrskii & Devyatkin,2015 : 69, pl.16. fig.63a(HT,♂),63b(HT,♂Un),63c(PT,♀). (C: Thua Thien Hue; Khanh Hoa)

[ THAILAND ]
Nakhon Nayok : Nakhon Nayok dist., 5♀ (incl.photo by M.Hayashi and S.Sophonviwatkul).
2017.10.01. 1♀, M.Hayashi (YI).

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[ VIETNAM ]
Khan Hoa : 1♂ 2♀ (Holotype & Paratype and incl. photo by K.Saito).

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Lam Dong : 1♀.

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This is the first record from Thailand. The first discovery in Thailand, which was a photo taken by Masakazu Hayashi in Nakhon Nayok on 24.Dec.2015 and was confirmed by specimen on 01.Oct.2017.
The butterfly is very localized and uncommon in montane forests at moderate elevations.
The populations from Yunnan, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam (except Khanh Hoa) are slightly different in appearance. I suspect that they probably represent a separate taxon. Further taxonomic and distributional studies are needed.

Saito, K.,2011 : A new species of the genus Rapala Moore, [1881] (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) from Vietnam.
Butterflies (Teinopalpus) 58:14-16.

Huang, H.,2023 : New or little known butterflies from China - 5 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae et Hesperiidae)
Neue ent. Nachr. 82:93-214.

♀, Khan Hoa, Vietnam. (photo by K.Saito)

♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by M.Hayashi)	♀, 2015.12.24. Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by M.Hayashi)
♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by S.Sophonviwatkul)

2012.08.15 - 2024.06.30.