Kingdom Animalia Family Lycaenidae Tribe Hypolycaenini Phylum Arthropoda Order Butterflies and moths | Class Insecta Subfamily Theclinae Species Z. amasa Rank Genus | |
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Similar Surendra, Hypolycaena, Loxura, Charana, Iraota | ||
Zeltus is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae, the blues. It is monotypic containing the species Zeltus amasa, the fluffy tit, a small butterfly found in India. The wingspan is 28–32 millimeter. The butterfly is found in different regions of India, specially the Western Ghats, Sikkim to Assam, Myanmar, Thailand, West Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java and the Philippines.
Contents
Description
The genus is small, and its wingspan is 28–32 millimeter. It has long fluffy tail (v.1, 13 mm.; v.2, 7 mm), which makes it easily recognizable. The forewing (FW) color of male Zeltus is blackish, and the basal area's color is pale blue. The forewing color of female Zeltus is dark brown. The hindwing (HW) color of the male is pale blue, the color of the apex is black.
Zeltus amasa has false eyes, legs, and antennae on the hindwing, which resembles and diverts attention from its real head. If it is attacked, its starts flying in an unexpected direction.
Habit
The genus is mostly found at hot, wet forest areas. It flies feebly. The male Zeltus rarely visits flowers, and stays on wet or damp patches, or on the leaves which are about 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground. The female mostly stays inside deep forest and is rarely seen.