Parantica aglea
 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (February 2024) |
| Glassy tiger | |
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_female_underside.jpg)
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| Underside | |
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| Upperside | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Parantica |
| Species: | P. aglea
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| Binomial name | |
| Parantica aglea (Stoll, 1782)
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| Synonyms | |
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Danais aglea | |
Parantica aglea, commonly known as the glassy tiger,[1][2] is a butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm. The species is a member of the Danainae subfamily of the Nymphalidae family.[1][2]
Description
Two subspecies are recognized, but neither form is consistent in markings or habitat. In the British Museum's collection, there are specimens of true Parantica aglea aglea from Myanmar, and others, inseparable from typical Parantica aglea melanoides, from Mysore.[3]
Subspecies Parantica aglea aglea
The ground color of this species is fuliginous black with subhyaline bluish-white streaks and spots. In the forewing, the 11th vein is anastomosed with the 12th.
Additionally, the first interspace of the upperside forewing has two comparatively long, broad streaks united at the base, which truncate exteriorly. The cell contains a very broad, somewhat clavate streak traversed by two fine black lines. Interspaces 2 and 3 display basal spots, an irregular discal series of three spots and two elongated streaks, and a subterminal series of spots. These two series curve inwards opposite the apex of the wing, with the latter continued along the apical half of the costa. Finally, in the interspaces of much smaller spots, a terminal row appears in pairs.
In the hindwing, interspaces 1a and 1b exhibit broad long streaks from the base. Interspace 1 and the cell each contain two streaks united at the base, and the pair in the cell have a short streak obliquely between their apices, in an outwardly radiating series of broad, elongate, inwardly pointed spots in interspaces 2–8, followed by somewhat irregular rows of subterminal and terminal spots. The underside is similar, though the markings and spots are sometimes a little ill-defined and blurred.[3]
The Antennae are black, the head and thorax are black spotted with white, the abdomen is blackish brown and ochraceous beneath. A male secondary sex-mark is present in form 2.[3][4]
Subspecies Parantica aglea melanoides
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The differences between the northern and eastern forms are as follows: wings on the whole longer and narrower; hyaline markings, especially in interspace 1 of forewing and in cells of both forewing and hindwing, much broader. In many specimens the black ground colour in these spaces is reduced to a mere slender black line enclosed in the subhyaline marking. On the underside the streaks are often much blurred and diffuse.[3]
The wingspan is 70–100mm.
Distribution
Subspecies Parantica aglea aglea is found in Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats north to Pune and the Niligiris.
Parantica aglea melanoides is distributed in the Himalayas from Kashmir to Nepal, in Sylhet and Chittagong regions of Bangladesh, in Assam of India, in Myanmar, and in Tenasserim.[3]
Life cycle
Food plants
The dogbanes Vincetoxicum bracteatum and Vincetoxicum dalzellii both serve as food plants for the catterpillers.[citation needed]
Eggs
White pearl-shaped eggs are laid on the undersides of leaves. They hatch after about three days.[5]
Larva
Dark claret brown, two round chrome-yellow spots on each segment, with scattered smaller bluish-white spots between, clustering into and forming a conspicuous line along the sides; legs and ventral surface purplish black, the tentacula, placed as usual on the 3rd and 12th segments, claret brown.[3]
The plants that host Parantica aglea larva include, Calotropis gigantea, Ceropegia bulbosa, Ceropegia lawii, Cryptolepis dubia, Vincetoxicum indicum, and Vincetoxicum flexuosum.[5]
Pupa
The pupae of Parantica aglea are green and spotted with silver, black, and gold; their shape is very tight behind the thorax.[3]
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Egg -
Larva (first instar) -
Larva (last instar) -
Pre-pupal Larva -
Pupa -
Newly-emerged butterfly
Range
The species is present in the Western Ghats mountains, in north-east India, Sri Lanka and the Malay peninsula.[3]
See also
References
- ^ 1.0 1.1 Varshney, R.K.; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing. p. 150. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
- ^ 2.0 2.1 Savela, Markku. "Parantica aglea (Stoll, [1782])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
- ^ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Bingham, Charles Thomas (1907). Fauna of British India. Butterflies Vol. 2. Taylor & Francis. pp. 18–19.
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Moore, Frederic (1890–1892). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. I. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 55–57.
- ^ 5.0 5.1 "Parantica aglea (Stoll, [1782]) - Glassy Tiger | Butterfly". www.ifoundbutterflies.org. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
External links
- Sri Lanka Wild Life Information DatabaseError: "Q7135572" is not a valid Wikidata entity ID.
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
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- Parantica
- Butterflies of Asia
- Butterflies of Indochina
- Insects of Myanmar
- Lepidoptera of Nepal
- Butterflies of Sri Lanka
- Taxa named by Caspar Stoll
- Butterflies described in 1782