Rapala pheretima subsp. petosiris, (Hewitson, 1863)

Kc, Sajan, Poel, Piet Van Der, Pariyar, Surendra, Sunar, Aman & Limbu, Mahendra Singh, 2025, A review of the genus Rapala Moore, 1881 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Theclinae) of Nepal with insights on little-known species, Zootaxa 5692 (1), pp. 31-56 : 47-48

9. R. pheretima petosiris ( Hewitson, 1863) Figs 1i , 11

Deudorix petosiris Hewitson, 1863: 22

Type locality: East India

Common Name: Copper Flash

Material Examined: NEPAL. Bagmati Province. Chitwan . Mahendra Forest , 21.iv. 1987, 200 m, leg. C.P. Smith ( ANHM, 1♀). Gandaki Province. Gorkha. Luitel School, 3.xii. 1968, 885 m, leg. C.P. Smith ( ANHM, 2♂). Kaski. Phewatal, 29.xi. 1986, 1070 m, leg. C.P. Smith ( ANHM, 1♀). INDIA. Meghalaya. Khasi Hills, 21.ii.1993, MGCL 1201220 , Genitalic Vial KW-24-85 ( MGCL 1♂) ( Fig. 11a ); Khasi Hills, 1950, MGCL 1201221 , Genitalic Vial KW-24-104 ( MGCL 1♀) ( Fig. 11b ) .

Wingspan: 36–42 mm ( Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Diagnosis ( Figs 11a, 11b ): Dorsally, the male R. pheretima resembles R. iarbus but can be distinguished by the shape of vein 2 on the hindwing, which lacks the stubby tail present in R. iarbus . The dorsal orange on the forewing is more suffused in male R. pheretima than in male R. iarbus . Ventrally, R. pheretima can be identified by its coppery hue, narrow dark brown postdiscal bands, a dark forewing cell-end bar, and typically a central cell bar on the forewing. Males also usually have a sub basal spot in space 7 on ventral hindwing. The male is red above, while the female is purple blue.

Male Genitalia ( Figs 11c–11f ): Aedeagus vesica with a hook-shaped tip; valvae short and slender with narrowed apices; cleft between the valvae slightly more than 1/3rd the length of the valval plate.

Female Genitalia ( Fig. 11g ): Anterior apophysis extremely short; ductus bursae lateral margins straight, distal end enlarged and smoothly convex; corpus bursae round and bulbous with a yolk-like center, short signum on either side with a single large hook-shaped spine inside.

Biology: Larvae are known to feed on the flowers of Dimocarpus longan Lour. , Syzygium fruticosum (Roxb.) DC., Lepisanthesrubiginosa (Roxb.) Leenh., Litchichinensis Sonn., Mangiferaindica L., Nepheliumlappaceum L., Vigna unguiculata unguiculata (L.) Walp., 1842 ( Ek-Amnuay 2012), Aganope thyrsiflora (Benth.) Polhill , and Macadamia integrifolia Maiden & Betche ( Robinson et al. 2023).

Natural History: Adults are typically found in forests, forest edges, stream edges, woodlands, and flowers ( Sondhi et al. 2013; Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Variation: The postdiscal bands in some individuals may be wider. Variation primarily occurs in the presence or absence of the mid-cell band on the ventral forewing and, in males, the sub basal spot 7 on the ventral hindwing.

Phenology in Nepal: January to December ( Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Elevation: 150– 1,580 m ( Smith 1994; Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Distribution on the Indian Subcontinent: East Uttarakhand in India eastward to Nepal, south to southeastern Madhya Pradesh and northern Chhattisgarh, northern Eastern Ghats, southern West Bengal, northeastern India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh ( Van Gasse 2018).

Distribution in Nepal: Terai region, Gandaki Province including the Pokhara Valley, Bagmati Province including the Kathmandu Valley, and Koshi Province ( Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Rapala Moore, 1881 species of Nepal in natural habitats. All images are © Sajan KC unless stated otherwise. The dorsal sides correspond to the same individuals shown from the ventral sides unless otherwise specified. a. Rapala varuna orseis Hewitson, 1863 ♂; b. R. iarbus iarbus (Fabricius, 1787) ♀ © Piet van der Poel; c. R. selira (Moore, 1874) ♀ © Richard C. Hoyer/Birdernaturalist (dorsal side different individual); d. R. manea schistacea (Moore, 1879) ♂; e. R. scintilla scintilla de Nicéville, 1890 ♂; f. R. rectivitta (Moore, 1879) ♂ © Albert Vliegenthart; g. R. nissa nissa (Kollar, [1844]) ♂; h. R. huangi Nakamura & Seki, 2017 ♀; i. R. pheretima petosiris (Hewitson, 1863) ♂; j. R. rosacea de Nicéville, [1889] ♂; k. R. tara de Nicéville, [1889] ♂; l. R. cf. dieneces dieneces (Hewitson, 1878) ♀.

FIGURE 11. Rapala pheretima petosiris (Hewitson, 1863), with distribution map indicating confirmed occurrences (red) and areas lacking records (gray) in Nepal. a. Male spread specimen from Khasi Hills, India; b. Female spread specimen from Khasi Hills, India; c. Male genitalia dorsal view without aedeagus; d. Male genitalia ventral view without aedeagus; e. Male genitalia lateral view without aedeagus; f. Aedeagus lateral view; g. Female genitalia, ductus and corpus bursae.