Rapala rhoecus ssp.  

Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Up. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Un. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♀ Up. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♀ Un.
♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand. ♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Up. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Un. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♀ Up. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♀ Un.
♂, Nan, Thailand. ♀, Nan, Thailand.
Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Up. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Un. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Up. Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Un.
♂, Tak, Thailand. ♂, Luang Namtha, Laos.

ON : Rapala rhoecus ssp.
OD :
TL :
Distribution : S.Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam.
● ssp.
ssp.rhoecus
Rapala rhoecus ssp. map

Synonym

Rapala sphinx intermedia Ollenbach, 1921 : J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 28(1):131, pl.1, fig.13,♂. TL. Kalataung, Tavoy. (homonym)


Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Rapala rhaecus [sic] ; Riley & Godfrey,1921 : 186-187. (Prae: Me Song forest)
Rapala rhoecus ; Godfrey,1930 : 350. (Prae: Me Song forest)
Rapala elcia rhoecus ; Pinratana,1981 : 151, pl.28, figs.13,♂,14,♂(Un). (Chiang Mai; Loei) (in part)
Rapala rhoecus rhoecus ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 716, pl.327, fig.L420,♂(left). (in part)
Rapala melida melida ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : pl.327, figs.L421,♀,♀(Un). (Nan) (in part)
Rapala rhoecus rhoecus ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 762, pl.350, figs.L441,♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Wiang Pa Pao)
Rapala melida melida ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : pl.350, figs.L442,♀,♀(Un). (Nan) (in part)
Rapala rhoecus intermedia ; Kimura et al.,2014 : 141, figs.♂,♂(Un),♂,♂(Un). (Tha Ton; Doi Chiang Dao)
Rapala rhoecus ssp. ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2023- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs., Early Stages. (Chiang Mai) (accessed: 2023.10.22)

[ LAOS ]
Rapala rhoecus ssp. ; Osada, Uémura & Uehara,1999 : 219. pl.128, fig.♂. (Vang Vieng)
Rapala rhoecus rhoecus ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 56.
Rapala rhoecus rhoecus ; Onodera,2022 : 99, pl.233, figs.♂,♂(Un). (Luang Phabang: Poungdong)

[ VIETNAM ]
Rapala rhoecus ; Monastyrskii & Devyatkin,2015 : 69. (C: Kon Thum)


Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Chiang Mai : 8♂ 8♀ (incl. photo & photo by T.Laola).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Lampang : 6♂ (incl. photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Phrae : 1♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Nan : 6♂ 1♀ (incl. photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Tak : 1♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


[ LAOS ]
Luang Namtha : 1♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


Notes

The butterfly is locally common in montane forests at low to moderate elevations (Alt. 300 - 1300m) and is frequently found in open spaces along streams in forest. Males are territorial on trees or shrubs.
My female specimen from Nan that was figured in Ek-Amnuay,[2007],2012 as Rapala melida nicevillei was a misidentification of Rapala rhoecus. Kimura et al.,2014 regarded populations from the continental area as ssp.intermedia Ollenbach, 1921, however the name is a junior secondary homonym. Therefore, I currently treat it as an unnamed subspecies.


Literature

Ollenbach, O.C.,1921 : A list of butterflies collected in the Tavoy district, Burma.
J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 28(1):123-139, 1 pl.


Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂
♂ (territorial behavior), Lampang, Thailand. ♂ (territorial behavior), Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂ Rapala rhoecus ssp. ♂
♂ (territorial behavior), Lampang, Thailand. ♂, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

2020.09.30 - 2023.10.31.

A Check list of Butterflies in Indo-China, Chiefly from THAILAND, LAOS & VIETNAM. Copyright © 1996- Y.Inayoshi.