Harman Patil (Editor)

Apaturina

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Family
  
Nymphalidae

Species
  
A. erinea

Rank
  
Genus

Class
  
Insecta

Subfamily
  
Apaturinae

Phylum
  
Arthropoda

Order
  
Butterflies and moths

Apaturina httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Similar
  
Butterflies and moths, Eulaceura, Dilipa, Herona, Euripus

Apaturina is a monotypic genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae. Its sole species is Apaturina erminea, the turquoise emperor.

Contents

Description

Apaturina erminea has a wingspan of about 70 millimetres (2.8 in), and males measure marginally larger than females. The uppersides of the forewings are black with an iridescent blue-green base, two white small spots at the apex and a diagonal series of pale yellow patches across each wing. The uppersides of the hindwings are completely iridescent blue green in males, or chestnut brown in females, with an eyespot on each wing. The undersides are quite similar but the basic color is grayish brown, without iridescence.

Food and behavior

The adults feed on various liquids, from rotting fruits and sap. The caterpillars feed on Celtis latifolia (Ulmaceae). Males are very fast flyers, but settle for long periods in trees, where they perch head down and wings closed, more than 7 m from the ground.

Distribution

This species can be found in Indonesia (Aru Islands, Irian Jaya, Maluku), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands up to northern Australia. In Australia it is limited to lowland tropical rainforest in the Iron Range.

Subspecies

  • Apaturina erminea erminea (Cramer, 1779) (Ambon, Serang)
  • Apaturina erminea papuana (Ribbe, 1886) (Papua New Guinea)
  • Apaturina erminea mirona Fruhstorfer, 1904 (Buru)
  • Apaturina erminea erinna Fruhstorfer, 1904 (Obi)
  • Apaturina erminea aluna Fruhstorfer, 1904 (Alu)
  • Apaturina erminea ribbei Röber, 1894 (Bachan, Halmahera)
  • Apaturina erminea octavia Fruhstorfer, 1904 (Waigeu)
  • Apaturina erminea antonia Fruhstorfer, 1904 (Papua New Guinea)
  • Apaturina erminea xanthocera Rothschild, 1904 (Solomon Islands)
  • Apaturina erminea neopommerania Hagen, 1879 (Bismarck Archipelago)
  • References

    Apaturina Wikipedia


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