Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Nymphalidae Scientific name Discophora lepida | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Discophora Rank Species | |
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Similar Discophora, Lethe drypetis, Mycalesis patnia, Cirrochroa thais, Mycalesis subdita | ||
The Southern Duffer Discophora lepida (Moore, 1857) is a butterfly found in India that belongs to the Duffers group, that is, the Morphinae sub family of the Brush-footed butterflies family.
Contents
Description
Resembles Discophora celinde, but in the male the ground colour on the upperside is dark velvety brown without any blue reflections; the forewing is crossed preapically by three obliquely-placed, comparatively large, pale-blue spots with an ill-defined series of three or four much smaller subterminal spots; in the female the markings, though similar to those in the female of celinde, are on the upperside of the forewing all pale blue, not yellow, and more numerous, larger, and better defined on the upperside of the hindwing. Underside. Male similar to that in male of D. celinde, but a more or less prominent diffuse subterminal band irrorated with lilac scales crosses both forewing and hindwing. Female similar to the female of D. celinde, but much paler.
Expanse: 80–104 mm.
Distribution
Found in South India and Sri Lanka.
Status
Rare.
Larva
"Cylindrical or slightly fusiform; bead large; anal segment furnished with two stout conical processes widely separated, but scarcely divergent; colour of head greenish yellow; eyes black; body brown, with a broad pure white dorsal band flanked with conspicuous black marks, and a yellow lateral mark on segments 6 to 11; head and body clothed with long reddish or brown hair." (Davidson, Bell and Aitken)
Pupa
"... head-case produced into two long conical adjoined processes, the thorax slightly convex and carinated dorsally, the wing-cases evenly expanded, abdomen strongly curved dorsally; surface finely rugose; colour semi-transparent yellowish, like a clean white bone, with the dorsal line anc the veins of: the wings marked in faint flesh-colour, loosely attached by the tail."