Rapala nissa nissa  (Kollar, [1844])

Rapala nissa nissa ♂ Up. Rapala nissa nissa ♂ Un. Rapala nissa nissa ♀ Up. Rapala nissa nissa ♀ Un.
♂, Nan, Thailand. ♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Rapala nissa nissa ♂ Up. Rapala nissa nissa ♂ Un. Rapala nissa nissa ♀ Up. Rapala nissa nissa ♀ Un.
♂, Tak, Thailand. ♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Rapala nissa nissa ♂ Up. Rapala nissa nissa ♂ Un. Rapala nissa nissa ♀ Up. Rapala nissa nissa ♀ Un.
♂, Lampang, Thailand. ♂, Nan, Thailand.

ON : Thecla nissa Kollar, [1844]
OD : in Hugel, Kaschmir und das Reich der Siek 4:412, pl.4, figs.3,♀,4,♀(Un).
TL : Mussoorie. (♀, NHM-Vienna)
Distribution : India, Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam,
China.
Rapala nissa nissa map

Synonyms

Thecla micans Bremer & Grey, 1853 : Schmett. N. China: 9. TL. China.
Rapala ranta Swinhoe, 1897 : Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (6)19:409-410. TL. Jaintia Hills, Assam.
Rapala nissa nissoides Swinhoe, 1915 : Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (8)16:176. TL. Haipan, Shan States.
Rapala micans haniae Huang, 2001 : Neue Ent. Nachr. 51: 81, figs.25,54,58, pl.9, fig.75. TL. Hekou, S.Yunnan.


Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Rapala nissa ranta ; Pinratana,1981 : 151, pl.28, fig.4,♂(Un) ; pl.32, figs.20,♂,21,♂(Un). (Chiang Mai; Loei)
Rapala rectivitta ; Pinratana,1981 : pl.28, fig.15,♀. (in part)
Rapala refulgens ; Pinratana,1981 : pl.28, figs.17,♀,18,♂. (in part)
Rapala nissa nissoides ; Pinratana,1981 : 151, not fig. (Chiang Mai)
Rapala refulgens ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : pl.326, figs.L417,♂(right),♂(right,Un). (in part)
Rapala nissa ranta ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 716, pl.327, figs.L424a♂[♀],♂[♀](Un),♀,♀(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Chiang Mai; Doi Phu Kha)
Rapala nissa ranta ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 764, pl.351, figs.L445a♂[♀],♂[♀](Un),♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Chiang Mai; Doi Phu Kha)
Rapala nissa ranta ; Kimura et al.,2014 : 143, figs.♂,♂(Un),♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Doi Pha Hom Pok; Doi Suthep; Doi Inthanon; Khun Lao V; Phu Kradung)
Rapala nissa nissa ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2023- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs. (Chiang Mai; Kamphaeng Phet) (accessed: 2023.10.22)

[ LAOS ]
Rapala nissa ranta ; Osada, Uémura & Uehara,1999 : 219. pl.128, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀. (Xam Neua)
Rapala nissa ranta ; Onodera,2009b : 37. (Houaphan: Phu Phan)
Rapala nissa ranta ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 56.
Rapala nissa nissa ; Onodera,2022 : 97, pl.231, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un),♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Xiengkhouang: Tha; Houaphan: Phou Pan)

[ VIETNAM ]
Rapala micans ssp. ; Yokochi et al.,2015 : 42, figs.108,♂,108v♂(Un),109,♂,109v♂(Un),110,♀,110v♀(Un). (Khanh Hoa: Hon Ba)
Rapala nissa nissa ; Monastyrskii & Devyatkin,2015 : 69. (C: Kon Tum to Lam Dong)


Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Mae Hong Son : 1♂ 2♀ (incl. photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Chiang Mai : 14♂ 7♀ (incl. photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Lampang : 1♂ 1♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Nan : 6♂ 2♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Kamphaeng Phet : 3♂ (photo by C.Sunthornwiphat).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Tak : 4♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


Notes

The butterfly is locally common in montane forests at moderate to high elevations (Alt. 900 - 2000m) and is frequently found on hilltops. Males are territorial on trees and occasionally come to the banks of streams and puddles to suck water.
The species is rather variable in terms of both individual and seasonal variation.

rectivitta nissa
Rapala rectivitta Rapala nissa
deep blue-shot in a side light. without blue-shot.


Literature

Kollar, V.,[1844] : Aufzahlung und Beschreibung der von Frciherrn Carl v. Hugel auf seiner Reise durch Kaschmir und das Himaleyagebirge gesammelten Insecten.
in Hugel, Kaschmir und das Reich der Siek.
Stuttgart, Hallbergerische Verlagshandlung 4(2):393-564, 582-585, pl.1-28.

Bremer, O. & Grey, W.,1853 : Beitrage zur Schmetterlings-fauna des Nodrlichen China's.
St. Peterberg :23 pp.

Swinhoe, C.,1897 : New Eastern Lepidoptera.
Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (6)19:407-410.

Fruhstorfer, H.,1914 : Neue Lycaeniden.
Deut. ent. Zeit. [Iris] 27(4):172-178.

Swinhoe, C.,1915 : New species of Indo-Malayan lepidoptera.
Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. (8)16:170-186.

Huang, H.,2001 : Report of H. Huang's 2000 Expedition to SE. Tibet for Rhopalocera (Insecta, Lepidoptera)
Neue Ent. Nachr. 51:65-152.

Nakamura, N. & Seki, Y.,[2018] : Reexamination of Rapala nissa (lycaenidae, Lepidoptera) and related taxa
Butterflies 76:4-14.

Nakamura, N. & Seki, Y.,2019 : Identification of the females of Rapala nissa and R.huangi (Lycaenidae, Lepidoptera)
Butterflies 80:4-10.


Rapala nissa nissa ♂ Rapala nissa nissa ♀
♂, Mae Hong Son, Thailand. ♀, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Rapala nissa nissa ♂
♂ (territorial behavior), Lampang, Thailand.

1999.07.21 - 2023.10.31.

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