Neha Patil (Editor)

Herona marathus

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Class
  
Insecta

Genus
  
Herona

Phylum
  
Arthropoda

Order
  
Butterflies and moths

Division
  
Rhopalocera

Family
  
Nymphalidae

Scientific name
  
Herona marathus

Rank
  
Species

Herona marathus httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Similar
  
Herona, Euripus consimilis, Hestina nama, Euripus nyctelius, Mimathyma ambica

Herona marathus, the pasha is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in India.

Contents

Description

The adults are dark brown above with two yellow or white discal bands on forewing and hindwing. They have a basal streak in vein 1b of forewing. Underside of forewing, in vein 5 with white streak in outer half till the termen.

Habits

It is fairly common up to 4000 ft (1200 m) in the Sikkim-Darjeeling area. Most frequent between 2000–3000 ft (600–900 m). It is very fond of over-ripe fruits. Visits damp patches for puddling. According to Haribal (1992), when disturbed it sits with head down and wings close to tree trunks and thus perfectly camouflaged. Very difficult to catch/locate in this stage. Haribal (1992) saw it in Chungthang and Mangan area of Sikkim.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recorded in India:

  • H. m. marathus Doubleday Wingspan 70-90 mm. Above bands tawny, very wide and confluent. It lives from Sikkim to eastwards.
  • H. m. angustata Moore. Above bands tawny, narrow. Discal bands on hindwing and outer band on forewing macular. Bands in males whitish while in female white. It lives in the Andamans.
  • Status

    The nominate subspecies is not rare (Evans, 1932).

    References

    Herona marathus Wikipedia