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{{Short description|Species of butterfly}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Italic title}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Taxobox
{{Speciesbox
| name = Indian Sunbeam
| name = Indian sunbeam
| image = Indian_sunbeam_male_up.jpg
| image = Indian sunbeam male up.jpg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
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| taxon = Curetis thetis
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| authority =([[Dru Drury|Drury]], 1773)
| classis = [[Insect]]a
| synonyms =
| ordo = [[Lepidoptera]]
*''Papilio thetis'' <small>Drury, 1773</small>
| familia = [[Lycaenidae]]
*''Papilio cinyra'' <small>Cramer, [1779]</small>
| genus = ''[[Curetis]]''
*''Papilio thetys'' <small>[sic] Drury</small>
| species = '''''C. thetis'''''
*''Hesperia aesopus'' <small>Fabricius, 1781</small>
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| binomial = ''Curetis thetis''
*''Hesperia phaedrus'' <small>Fabricius, 1781</small>
| binomial_authority = ([[Hübner]], 1819){{Verify source|date=September 2007}}<!-- "([[Dru Drury|Drury]], 1773)" ? -->
*''Polyommatus phaedrus'' <small>(Fabricius)</small>
| synonym = ''Lycaena thetis''
*''Phaedra terricola'' <small>Horsfield, [1829]</small>
*''Anops thetys'' <small>[sic] Moore, [1858]</small>
*''Curetis arcuata'' <small>Moore, [1884]</small>
*''Curetis phaedrus'' <small>(Fabricius)</small>
}}
}}


The '''Indian Sunbeam''', ''Curetis thetis''<ref name="LepIndex Curetis thetis">[http://internt.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/research-curation/projects/lepindex/detail.dsml?TaxonNo=194319.0&UserID=&UserName=&&listPageURL=list%2edsml%3fsort%3dSCIENTIFIC%255fNAME%255fon%255fcard%26SCIENTIFIC%5fNAME%5fon%5fcardqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26SCIENTIFIC%5fNAME%5fon%5fcard%3dthetis%26recLimit%3d30&searchPageURL=index%2edsml%3fSCIENTIFIC%5fNAME%5fon%5fcardqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26sort%3dSCIENTIFIC%255fNAME%255fon%255fcard%26SCIENTIFIC%5fNAME%5fon%5fcard%3dthetis%26recLimit%3d30 Card for '''''Curetis thetis''''' in LepIndex. Accessed 31 December 2006.]</ref><ref name="Savela">Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera [http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/curetinae/curetis/index.html Page on ''Curetis'' genus.]</ref> is a species of [[Lycaenidae|lycaenid]] or blue butterfly found in Asia.
'''''Curetis thetis''''', the '''Indian sunbeam''',<ref name=Smetacek/><ref name="LepIndex Curetis thetis">{{LepIndex |id=194319}} Retrieved 20 April 2018.</ref><ref name="Savela">Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera [http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/curetinae/curetis/index.html ''Curetis'']{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera</ref> is a species of [[Lycaenidae|lycaenid]] or red butterfly found in [[Indomalayan realm]].<ref name=Smetacek>{{Cite book|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287980260|title=A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India|last1=R.K.|first1=Varshney|last2=Smetacek|first2=Peter|publisher=Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi|year=2015|isbn=978-81-929826-4-9|location=New Delhi|pages=89|doi=10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164}}</ref>


==Distribution==
==Distribution==
The butterfly occurs in [[Peninsular India]], south of the Himalayas, but not in the desert tracts or in areas with a scanty rainfall; parts of Assam; Saurashtra; Bengal, Sylhet onto [[Myanmar]]. It is also found in the [[Nicobar islands]].<ref name="Savela"/><ref name="bingham"/>
The butterfly occurs in [[Peninsular India]], south of the Himalayas, but not in the desert tracts or in areas with a scanty rainfall; parts of Assam; Saurashtra; Bengal, Sylhet onto [[Myanmar]]. It is also found in the [[Nicobar Islands]].<ref name="Savela"/><ref name="bingham"/>


It is also found in [[Sri Lanka]], [[Java]], [[Philippines]], North [[Sulawesi]] and [[Selajar]].<ref name="Savela"/>
It is also found in [[Sri Lanka]], [[Java]], [[Philippines]], northern [[Sulawesi]] and [[Selajar]].<ref name="Savela"/>


==Status==
==Status==
Not Rare.<ref name="Wynter-Blyth">Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) ''Butterflies of the Indian Region'', pg 498.</ref>
It is not considered rare.<ref name="Wynter-Blyth">{{cite book|last=Wynter-Blyth |first=Mark Alexander |author-link=Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth |title=Butterflies of the Indian Region |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEkgAQAAMAAJ |year=1957 |location=Bombay, India |publisher=[[Bombay Natural History Society]] |isbn=978-8170192329 |page=498 }}</ref>


==Description==
==Description==
{{For|terms used|glossary of Lepidopteran terms}}
{{Entomology glossary hatnote}}


===Male===
===Male===
[[Image:VB 051 Indian Sunbeam UN.jpg|Indian Sunbeam Underside photographed in Bangalore,India|thumb|left]]
[[Image:VB 051 Indian Sunbeam UN.jpg|Indian sunbeam Underside photographed in Bangalore,India|thumb|left]]
[[File:Indian sun beam silent valley dec 2011wp.JPG|thumb|Indian sun beam male at silent valley NP|left]]
[[File:Indian sun beam silent valley dec 2011wp.JPG|thumb|At [[Silent Valley National Park]]|left]]
Upperside dark cupreous red, glossy and shining. Fore wing: base irrorated with dusky scales; [[Glossary of Lepidopteran terms|costa]] edged with a narrow, inwardly jagged, jet-black band that broadens to the apex, thence continued along the [[Glossary of Lepidopteran terms|termen]], decreasing in width to the [[Glossary of Lepidopteran terms|tornus]]; opposite the [[Glossary of Lepidopteran terms|apex]] the inner edge of the black is acutely angulate. Hind wing: base and [[Dorsum (anatomy)|dorsum]] broadly but slightly irrorated with dusky scales; costa narrowly, dorsal margin more broadly pale; termen very narrowly and evenly margined with black.
Upperside dark cupreous red, glossy and shining. Forewing: base irrorated with dusky scales; [[Costa (entomology)|costa]] edged with a narrow, inwardly jagged, jet-black band that broadens to the apex, thence continued along the [[Glossary of entomology terms|termen]], decreasing in width to the [[Glossary of entomology terms|tornus]]; opposite the [[Glossary of entomology terms|apex]] the inner edge of the black is acutely angulate. Hindwing: base and [[Dorsum (anatomy)|dorsum]] broadly but slightly irrorated (sprinkled) with dusky scales; costa narrowly, dorsal margin more broadly pale; termen very narrowly and evenly margined with black.<ref name="bingham"/>


Underside: shining silvery white. Fore and hind wings crossed transversely by [[Glossary of Lepidopteran terms|discal]] and inner subterminal, somewhat lunular dark lines and a more or less obsolescent outer sub-terminal line of minute dark dots. These markings generally very indistinct but traceable; in some specimens more clearly defined but never prominent. Antennae, bead, thorax and abdomen dusky black; the antennae reddish at apex; in some specimens the head, the thorax laterally and the base of the abdomen brownish mouse-colour; beneath : the palpi, thorax and the basal half of the abdomen medially silvery white, the sides and apex of the abdomen dusky black.
Underside: shining silvery white. Forewings and hindwings crossed transversely by [[Glossary of entomology terms|discal]] and inner subterminal, somewhat lunular dark lines and a more or less obsolescent outer subterminal line of minute dark dots. These markings generally very indistinct but traceable; in some specimens more clearly defined but never prominent. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen dusky black; the antennae reddish at apex; in some specimens the head, the thorax laterally and the base of the abdomen brownish-mouse colour; beneath: the palpi, thorax and the basal half of the abdomen medially silvery white, the sides and apex of the abdomen dusky black.<ref name="bingham"/>


===Female===
===Female===
[[Image:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 9941.jpg|thumb|Female in [[Hyderabad, India]]. ]]
[[Image:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 9941.jpg|thumb|Female in [[Hyderabad]], India]]
Upperside: fore wing dark brownish-black; a large medial patch that extends from vein 1 to vein 4, enters the lower half of the cell and extends from base outwards for about two-thirds the length of the wing, white ; at the base of the wing this patch is shaded and obscured for a short distance by dusky black. Hind wing: pale dusky black; a darker, short, broad brownish-black streak from base along the subcostal vein, that outwardly broadens into an irregularly round patch beyond which is a broad short upper discal white band with ill-defined and somewhat diffuse margins. Cilia, fore and hind wings: white. Underside: as in the male but the markings still more indistinct, and in almost no specimen is there any trace of the outer subtermmal line of dark dots.<ref name="bingham">Bingham, C. T. 1907. ''Fauna of British India. Butterflies''. Volume 2</ref>
Upperside: forewing dark brownish black; a large medial patch that extends from vein 1 to vein 4, enters the lower half of the cell and extends from base outwards for about two-thirds the length of the wing, white; at the base of the wing this patch is shaded and obscured for a short distance by dusky black. Hindwing: pale dusky black; a darker, short, broad brownish-black streak from base along the subcostal vein, that outwardly broadens into an irregularly round patch beyond which is a broad short upper discal white band with ill-defined and somewhat diffuse margins. Cilia, forewings and hindwings: white. Underside: as in the male but the markings still more indistinct, and in almost no specimen is there any trace of the outer subterminal line of dark dots.<ref name="bingham">{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite book |last1=Bingham |first1=C.T. |author-link=Charles Thomas Bingham |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma |url=https://archive.org/stream/butterflies02bingiala#page/436/mode/2up/ |volume=II |edition=1st |publisher= [[Taylor & Francis|Taylor and Francis, Ltd.]] |location=London |year=1907|pages=437–441}}}}</ref><ref name=SwinhoeIndica>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{Cite book|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/104151#page/253/mode/1up|title=Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. VIII |last=Swinhoe|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Swinhoe|publisher=Lovell Reeve and Co.|year=1910–1911|location=London|pages=239–242}}}}</ref>
[[Image:BH019 Curetis thetis male & female.jpg|thumb|left]]
[[Image:BH019 Curetis thetis male & female.jpg|thumb|left]]


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===Male===
===Male===
Upperside: ground-colour similar but of a slightly paler shade in all the specimens I have seen. Fore wing: costal and terminal margins edged more broadly with black than in ''thetis'', the inner margin of this colour forms a regular strongly curved arch from base of wing to tornus, not angulate at all opposite apex of wing, the edging of the costal margin not jagged on the inner side. Hind wing: the costal margin not pale but somewhat broadly dusky black; the terminal black edging broader than in ''thetis'', not linear, produced for a very short distance up each vein. The irroration of dusky scales at the bases of both fore and hind wings and along the dorsal area of the hind wing heavier and more broadly diffused, especially on the latter. Underside: as in the typical form. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen similar.
Upperside: ground colour similar but of a slightly paler shade in all the specimens I have seen. Forewing: costal and terminal margins edged more broadly with black than in ''thetis'', the inner margin of this colour forms a regular strongly curved arch from base of wing to tornus, not angulate at all opposite apex of wing, the edging of the costal margin not jagged on the inner side. Hindwing: the costal margin not pale but somewhat broadly dusky black; the terminal black edging broader than in ''thetis'', not linear, produced for a very short distance up each vein. The irroration of dusky scales at the bases of both forewings and hindwings and along the dorsal area of the hindwing heavier and more broadly diffused, especially on the latter. Underside: as in the typical form. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen similar.<ref name="bingham"/>


===Female===
===Female===
[[Image:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 9693.jpg|thumb|Female in [[Hyderabad, India]]. ]]
[[Image:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 9693.jpg|thumb|Female in Hyderabad, India]]
Upperside: ground-colour darker brownish-black, deep opaque black on the costa, apex and termen of the fore wing; the medial oval white patch on the fore wing smaller, the upper discal white band on the hind wing narrower, the short, broad black streak from base terminates in a large round spot or patch inwardly merged in the ground-colour which fills the whole area of the cell.<ref name="bingham"/>
Upperside: ground colour darker brownish black, deep opaque black on the costa, apex and termen of the forewing; the medial oval white patch on the forewing smaller, the upper discal white band on the hindwing narrower, the short, broad black streak from base terminates in a large round spot or patch inwardly merged in the ground colour which fills the whole area of the cell.<ref name="bingham"/>


There have been reports of [[gynandromorph]]ic forms.<ref>Chaturvedi, N. 1992 "Gynandromorph of Indian Sunbeam", ''Curetis thetis'' (Lycaenidae)". ''Lepidoptera News''</ref>
There have been reports of [[gynandromorph]]ic forms.<ref>Chaturvedi, N. 1992 "Gynandromorph of Indian Sunbeam", ''Curetis thetis'' (Lycaenidae)". ''Lepidoptera News''</ref>
Line 55: Line 59:
==Life history==
==Life history==


===Foodplants===
===Food plants===
The larva has been recorded as feeding on [[Pongamia glabra]], [[Derris scandens]], [[Abrus precatorius]] ([[Leguminosae]]), [[Xylia dolabriformis]] and [[Heynia trijuga]] ([[Meliaceae]]).<ref name="Wynter-Blyth"/><ref>Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández. HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/hostplants/] Accessed November 2006</ref>
The larva has been recorded as feeding on ''[[Pongamia glabra]]'', ''[[Derris scandens]]'', ''[[Abrus precatorius]]'' ([[Leguminosae]]), ''[[Xylia dolabriformis]]'' and ''[[Heynia trijuga]]'' ([[Meliaceae]]).<ref name="Wynter-Blyth"/><ref>Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández. HOSTS – a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/hostplants/] Accessed November 2006</ref>

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[[Image:HorsfieldMoorCatalogueEastIndiaCompanyLepidopteraPlateXII.jpg|thumb|180px|left|Larva (7), pupa (7a)]]


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[[Image:HorsfieldMoorCatalogueEastIndiaCompanyLepidopteraPlateXII.jpg|thumb|180px|left|''Curetis thetis'' larva (7), pupa (7a)]]
===Larva===
===Larva===
{{Quote|On emergence eats a hole through the top of the egg about equalling one-third of its surface and crawls out. The empty shell has a close superficial resemblance to an echinus shell. In colour pale ochreous, furnished with long stout white hairs of which a subdorsal series is on each side, with one long hair springing from the apex of each tubercle; there are, besides, other lateral series and numerous hairs projecting forwards in front of the head and backwards over the anal segment. The full-grown larva is the most beautiful known to me among the Lycaenidae.....of the exact shade of green of the leaves on which it feeds..... The second segment is quite unmarked; the third to the thirteenth have a subdorsal series of short oblique pale yellowish-green lines between which the ground-colour is paler than the rest of the body; there is a dark green dorsal line; on each side of the ninth segment there is a prominent pure dead-white, somewhat diamond-shaped mark. [[Lionel de Nicéville|de Nicéville]]}} Mr. de Niceville goes on to say that the sheaths of the tentacles on the twelfth segment are pale green, the tentacles themselves maroon, the whorl of hairs at their apices white with their basal thirds black.<ref name="bingham"/>
{{Blockquote|On emergence eats a hole through the top of the egg about equalling one-third of its surface and crawls out. The empty shell has a close superficial resemblance to an echinus shell. In colour pale ochreous, furnished with long stout white hairs of which a subdorsal series is on each side, with one long hair springing from the apex of each tubercle; there are, besides, other lateral series and numerous hairs projecting forwards in front of the head and backwards over the anal segment. The full-grown larva is the most beautiful known to me among the Lycaenidae.....of the exact shade of green of the leaves on which it feeds..... The second segment is quite unmarked; the third to the thirteenth have a subdorsal series of short oblique pale yellowish-green lines between which the ground-colour is paler than the rest of the body; there is a dark green dorsal line; on each side of the ninth segment there is a prominent pure dead-white, somewhat diamond-shaped mark.|[[Lionel de Nicéville|de Nicéville]]}} De Niceville goes on to say that the sheaths of the tentacles on the twelfth segment are pale green, the tentacles themselves maroon, the whorl of hairs at their apices white with their basal thirds black.<ref name="bingham"/>


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The larvae have tentacular organs as seen on [[myrmecophily|myrmecophilous]] lycaenids, but they have not been observed to be tended by ants.<ref>DeVries, P. J. 1984. "Of crazy-ants and Curetinae: are Curetis butterflies tended by ants?" Zool. J. Linnean Soc. 79: 59-66.</ref><ref>Fiedler, Konrad, Peter Seufert, [[Naomi Pierce|Naomi E. Pierce]], John G. Pearson and Hans-Thomas Baumgarten. 1992. 2Exploitation of lycaenid-ant mutualisms by braconid parasitoids". ''Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera'' 31(3-4):153-168</ref><ref>Pierce, Naomi E. , Michael F. Braby, Alan Heath, David J. Lohman, John Mathew, Douglas B. Rand, and Mark A. Travassos 2002. "The Ecology and Evolution of Ant Association in the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera)" ''Annual Review of Entomology'' 47: 733-771</ref>
The larvae have tentacular organs as seen on [[myrmecophily|myrmecophilous]] lycaenids, but they have not been observed to be tended by ants.<ref>
⚫
DeVries, P. J. 1984. "Of crazy-ants and Curetinae: are Curetis butterflies tended by ants?" Zool. J. Linnean Soc. 79: 59-66.</ref><ref>Fiedler, Konrad, Peter Seufert, [[Naomi Pierce|Naomi E. Pierce]], John G. Pearson and Hans-Thomas Baumgarten. 1992. 2Exploitation of lycaenid-ant mutualisms by braconid parasitoids". ''Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera'' 31(3-4):153-168</ref><ref>Pierce, Naomi E. , Michael F. Braby, Alan Heath, David J. Lohman, John Mathew, Douglas B. Rand, and Mark A. Travassos 2002. "THE ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF ANT ASSOCIATION IN THE LYCAENIDAE (LEPIDOPTERA)" ''Annual Review of Entomology'' 47: 733-771</ref>


===Pupa===
===Pupa===
Light green; wing-cases bluish green. "There is a conspicuous heart-shaped pale ochreous mark on the top of the thorax, the pits on it filled in with reddish pigment." (de Nicéville.)<ref name="bingham"/> The pupae are capable of producing sounds and the function of these are not fully understood.<ref>Downey, John C. 1966. "SOUND PRODUCTION IN PUPAE OF LYCAENIDAE". ''Journal of The Lepidopterists' Society'' 20(3)</ref>
Light green; wing-cases bluish green. "There is a conspicuous heart-shaped pale ochreous mark on the top of the thorax, the pits on it filled in with reddish pigment." (de Nicéville.)<ref name="bingham"/> The pupae are capable of producing sounds and the function of these are not fully understood.<ref>Downey, John C. 1966. "Sound Production in Pupae of Lycaenidae". ''Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society'' 20(3)</ref>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis)- Male in Narshapur, AP W IMG 0801.jpg|Male in [[Narsapur, Medak district]], India.
File:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis)- Male in Narshapur, AP W IMG 0801.jpg|Male in [[Narsapur, Medak district]], India
File:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis)- Male in Narshapur, AP W IMG 0793.jpg|Male in [[Narsapur, Medak district]], India.
File:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis)- Male in Narshapur, AP W IMG 0793.jpg|Male in Narsapur, Medak district, India
File:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis)- Male in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 0232.jpg|Male in [[Hyderabad, India]].
File:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis)- Male in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 0232.jpg|Male in [[Hyderabad]], India
Image:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 9945.jpg|Female in [[Hyderabad, India]].
Image:Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 9945.jpg|Female in Hyderabad, India
File:(Curetis thetis) Indian Sunbeam along Eastern Ghats 03.jpg|(Curetis thetis) Indian Sunbeam along Eastern Ghats, [[Visakhapatnam]], India
File:(Curetis thetis) Indian Sunbeam along Eastern Ghats 03.jpg|Along the Eastern Ghats, [[Visakhapatnam]], India
File:Indian Sunbeam Curetis thetis Female 4 UP Kalyan Maharashtra DSCF2139 (13).JPG
File:Indian Sunbeam Curetis thetis Egg Dombivali Maharashtra DSCF2363 (4).JPG
File:Indian Sunbeam Curetis thetis Karnala Wildlife Sanctuary Maharashtra DSCF4169 (1).JPG
</gallery>
</gallery>

[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Sunbeam_Curetis_thetis_Female_4_UP_Kalyan_Maharashtra_DSCF2139_%2813%29.JPG]
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==See also==
[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Sunbeam_Curetis_thetis_Egg_Dombivali_Maharashtra_DSCF2363_%284%29.JPG]
⚫
* [[List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)]]
[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Sunbeam_Curetis_thetis_Karnala_Wildlife_Sanctuary_Maharashtra_DSCF4169_%281%29.JPG]


==Cited references==
==Cited references==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

⚫
==See also==
⚫
[[List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)]]


==References==
==References==
* {{cite book |last1=Bingham |first1=C.T. |author-link=Charles Thomas Bingham |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma |url=https://archive.org/details/butterflies02bingiala |volume=II |edition=1st |publisher= [[Taylor & Francis|Taylor and Francis, Ltd.]] |location=London |year=1907 }}
* Bingham, C. T. (1907) ''Fauna of British India. Butterflies''. Volume 2
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/lepindex/ |title=The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex) |last1=Beccaloni |first1=George |last2=Scoble |first2=Malcolm |last3=Kitching |first3=Ian |last4=Simonsen |first4=Thomas |last5=Robinson |first5=Gaden |last6=Pitkin |first6=Brian |last7=Hine |first7=Adrian |last8=Lyal |first8=Chris |publisher=Natural History Museum, London |access-date=2016-10-15 }}
* Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. ''The Global Lepidoptera Names Index'' (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 5 December 2006]
* [http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/index.html Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera]
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ |title=Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera }}
* Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) ''Butterflies of the Indian Region'', Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
* {{cite book|last=Wynter-Blyth |first=Mark Alexander |author-link=Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth |title=Butterflies of the Indian Region |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEkgAQAAMAAJ |year=1957 |location=Bombay, India |publisher=[[Bombay Natural History Society]] |isbn=978-8170192329 }}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q5194712}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Curetis Thetis}}
[[Category:Curetis|thetis]]
[[Category:Curetis]]
[[Category:Butterflies of Java]]
[[Category:Butterflies of India]]
[[Category:Butterflies described in 1773]]
[[Category:Butterflies of Asia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Dru Drury]]

Latest revision as of 23:53, 7 November 2023

Indian sunbeam
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Curetis
Species:
C. thetis
Binomial name
Curetis thetis
(Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
  • Papilio thetis Drury, 1773
  • Papilio cinyra Cramer, [1779]
  • Papilio thetys [sic] Drury
  • Hesperia aesopus Fabricius, 1781
  • Hesperia phaedrus Fabricius, 1781
  • Polyommatus phaedrus (Fabricius)
  • Phaedra terricola Horsfield, [1829]
  • Anops thetys [sic] Moore, [1858]
  • Curetis arcuata Moore, [1884]
  • Curetis phaedrus (Fabricius)

Curetis thetis, the Indian sunbeam,[1][2][3] is a species of lycaenid or red butterfly found in Indomalayan realm.[1]

Distribution

[edit]

The butterfly occurs in Peninsular India, south of the Himalayas, but not in the desert tracts or in areas with a scanty rainfall; parts of Assam; Saurashtra; Bengal, Sylhet onto Myanmar. It is also found in the Nicobar Islands.[3][4]

It is also found in Sri Lanka, Java, Philippines, northern Sulawesi and Selajar.[3]

Status

[edit]

It is not considered rare.[5]

Description

[edit]
For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

Male

[edit]
Indian sunbeam Underside photographed in Bangalore,India
At Silent Valley National Park

Upperside dark cupreous red, glossy and shining. Forewing: base irrorated with dusky scales; costa edged with a narrow, inwardly jagged, jet-black band that broadens to the apex, thence continued along the termen, decreasing in width to the tornus; opposite the apex the inner edge of the black is acutely angulate. Hindwing: base and dorsum broadly but slightly irrorated (sprinkled) with dusky scales; costa narrowly, dorsal margin more broadly pale; termen very narrowly and evenly margined with black.[4]

Underside: shining silvery white. Forewings and hindwings crossed transversely by discal and inner subterminal, somewhat lunular dark lines and a more or less obsolescent outer subterminal line of minute dark dots. These markings generally very indistinct but traceable; in some specimens more clearly defined but never prominent. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen dusky black; the antennae reddish at apex; in some specimens the head, the thorax laterally and the base of the abdomen brownish-mouse colour; beneath: the palpi, thorax and the basal half of the abdomen medially silvery white, the sides and apex of the abdomen dusky black.[4]

Female

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Female in Hyderabad, India

Upperside: forewing dark brownish black; a large medial patch that extends from vein 1 to vein 4, enters the lower half of the cell and extends from base outwards for about two-thirds the length of the wing, white; at the base of the wing this patch is shaded and obscured for a short distance by dusky black. Hindwing: pale dusky black; a darker, short, broad brownish-black streak from base along the subcostal vein, that outwardly broadens into an irregularly round patch beyond which is a broad short upper discal white band with ill-defined and somewhat diffuse margins. Cilia, forewings and hindwings: white. Underside: as in the male but the markings still more indistinct, and in almost no specimen is there any trace of the outer subterminal line of dark dots.[4][6]

Variety arcuata

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Variety arcuata Moore, differs from typical thetis as follows:

Male

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Upperside: ground colour similar but of a slightly paler shade in all the specimens I have seen. Forewing: costal and terminal margins edged more broadly with black than in thetis, the inner margin of this colour forms a regular strongly curved arch from base of wing to tornus, not angulate at all opposite apex of wing, the edging of the costal margin not jagged on the inner side. Hindwing: the costal margin not pale but somewhat broadly dusky black; the terminal black edging broader than in thetis, not linear, produced for a very short distance up each vein. The irroration of dusky scales at the bases of both forewings and hindwings and along the dorsal area of the hindwing heavier and more broadly diffused, especially on the latter. Underside: as in the typical form. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen similar.[4]

Female

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Female in Hyderabad, India

Upperside: ground colour darker brownish black, deep opaque black on the costa, apex and termen of the forewing; the medial oval white patch on the forewing smaller, the upper discal white band on the hindwing narrower, the short, broad black streak from base terminates in a large round spot or patch inwardly merged in the ground colour which fills the whole area of the cell.[4]

There have been reports of gynandromorphic forms.[7]

Life history

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Food plants

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The larva has been recorded as feeding on Pongamia glabra, Derris scandens, Abrus precatorius (Leguminosae), Xylia dolabriformis and Heynia trijuga (Meliaceae).[5][8]

Larva (7), pupa (7a)

Larva

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On emergence eats a hole through the top of the egg about equalling one-third of its surface and crawls out. The empty shell has a close superficial resemblance to an echinus shell. In colour pale ochreous, furnished with long stout white hairs of which a subdorsal series is on each side, with one long hair springing from the apex of each tubercle; there are, besides, other lateral series and numerous hairs projecting forwards in front of the head and backwards over the anal segment. The full-grown larva is the most beautiful known to me among the Lycaenidae.....of the exact shade of green of the leaves on which it feeds..... The second segment is quite unmarked; the third to the thirteenth have a subdorsal series of short oblique pale yellowish-green lines between which the ground-colour is paler than the rest of the body; there is a dark green dorsal line; on each side of the ninth segment there is a prominent pure dead-white, somewhat diamond-shaped mark.

— de Nicéville

De Niceville goes on to say that the sheaths of the tentacles on the twelfth segment are pale green, the tentacles themselves maroon, the whorl of hairs at their apices white with their basal thirds black.[4]

The larvae have tentacular organs as seen on myrmecophilous lycaenids, but they have not been observed to be tended by ants.[9][10][11]

Pupa

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Light green; wing-cases bluish green. "There is a conspicuous heart-shaped pale ochreous mark on the top of the thorax, the pits on it filled in with reddish pigment." (de Nicéville.)[4] The pupae are capable of producing sounds and the function of these are not fully understood.[12]

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See also

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Cited references

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  1. ^ a b R.K., Varshney; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. p. 89. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
  2. ^ Beccaloni, G.; Scoble, M.; Kitching, I.; Simonsen, T.; Robinson, G.; Pitkin, B.; Hine, A.; Lyal, C., eds. (2003). "​Curetis thetis​". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Natural History Museum. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera Curetis[permanent dead link‍] at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Bingham, C.T. (1907). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. II (1st ed.). London: Taylor and Francis, Ltd. pp. 437–441.
  5. ^ a b Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 498. ISBN 978-8170192329.
  6. ^ Public Domain One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Swinhoe, Charles (1910–1911). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. VIII. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 239–242.
  7. ^ Chaturvedi, N. 1992 "Gynandromorph of Indian Sunbeam", Curetis thetis (Lycaenidae)". Lepidoptera News
  8. ^ Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández. HOSTS – a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants [1] Accessed November 2006
  9. ^ DeVries, P. J. 1984. "Of crazy-ants and Curetinae: are Curetis butterflies tended by ants?" Zool. J. Linnean Soc. 79: 59-66.
  10. ^ Fiedler, Konrad, Peter Seufert, Naomi E. Pierce, John G. Pearson and Hans-Thomas Baumgarten. 1992. 2Exploitation of lycaenid-ant mutualisms by braconid parasitoids". Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 31(3-4):153-168
  11. ^ Pierce, Naomi E. , Michael F. Braby, Alan Heath, David J. Lohman, John Mathew, Douglas B. Rand, and Mark A. Travassos 2002. "The Ecology and Evolution of Ant Association in the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera)" Annual Review of Entomology 47: 733-771
  12. ^ Downey, John C. 1966. "Sound Production in Pupae of Lycaenidae". Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 20(3)

References

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