Arhopala anthelus, the angelus bush blue, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm.
Description
Male. Upperside : both wings brilliant shining violet-blue; the primaries with black linear costa and posterior margin; secondaries with broadish brown costa, linear black posterior margin, and very pale grey abdominal fold. Tail black, white-tipped. Underside : both wings pale greyish brown, with dark spots broadly edged with whitish. Primaries with three large increasing spots, touching the second of which are two or three somewhat confluent spots up to the costal nervure. Upperside : both wings violet, with very broad brown costal and posterior margins to primaries and less broad borders to the secondaries. Underside as in male.
Subspecies
- A. a. anthelus (Burma)
- A. a. anthea <small>(Evans, 1925)</small> (Mergui, southern Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos)
- A. a. anunda <small>(Hewitson, [1869])</small> (Borneo, Sumatra) -abundant panther-like stripes on the under surface, on which the prominent dark spots are surrounded by a bright ochreous-yellow colour. In the female the whole distal halves of the wings above are darkened, the black margin of the wings being 3 to 4 mm broad.
- A. a. expallida <small>Seki, 1994</small> (Sumatra)
- A. a. fulgurita <small>Seki, 1994</small> (Mentawai islands)
- A. a. grahami <small>Corbet, 1941</small> (Peninsular Malaysia, Langkawi)with female blue to violet blue with broad borders.
- A. a. impar <small>Evans, 1957</small> (Mindoro)
- A. a. jabadia <small>Fruhstorfer, 1914</small> (western Java) males above morpho-blue.
- A. a. majestatis <small>Fruhstorfer, 1914</small> (Nias)- above deep blue, with a very bright gloss.
- A. a. marinduquensis <small>Hayashi, Schröder & Treadaway, 1984</small> (Philippines: Marinduque)
- A. a. mitis <small>Seki, 1994</small> (Pulau Belitung)
- A. a. paradisii <small>Schröder & Treadaway, 1990</small> (Philippines: Dinagat)
- A. a. reverie <small>Seki, 1994</small> (Panay Island)
- A. a. sanmariana <small>Osada & Hashimoto, 1987</small> (Philippines: north-eastern Luzon)
- A. a. saturatior <small>(Staudinger, 1889)</small> (Philippines: Palawan)
- A. a. sotades <small>Fruhstorfer, 1914</small> (Philippines: Mindanao)- glaring light blue, the female sometimes with a greenish lustre above; ground-colour beneath more intensely smoke-brown.
Gallery
References