Rapala tara, de Nice, 1889

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 : 49-50

10. R. tara de Nice ́ville, [1889] Figs 1k , 12

Rapala tara de Nicéville, [1889] : 284

Type locality: Sylhet ( India)

Common Name: Assam Flash

Material Examined: NEPAL. Bagmati Province. Lalitpur . Godavari , 21.x. 1970, 1495 m, leg. C.P. Smith ( ANHM, 1♀) . Gandaki Province. Kaski . Dhampus , 3.viii.1990, 1100 m, leg. C.P. Smith ( ANHM, 1♀) . Koshi Province. Taplejung . Chilauni , 7.vii. 1996, 1530 m, leg. C.P. Smith ( ANHM, 1♂) . INDIA. Meghalaya. Khasi Hills , leg. Le Moult, MGCL 1201232 , Genitalic Vial KW-24-91 ( MGCL, 1♂) ( Fig. 12a ); same locality, vi.1938, MGCL 1201233 , Genitalic Vial KW-24-109 ( MGCL, 1♀) ( Fig. 12b ) .

Wingspan: 33–41 mm ( Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Diagnosis ( Figs 12a, 12b ): Rapala tara can be distinguished from its congeners in Nepal by the presence of a discal black brand on the male’s forewing dorsally, similar to that of Hypolycaena erylus (Godart, [1824]) , set against a brilliant blue background. The female is dull brownish purple above. Ventrally, it differs from similar yellow or ochraceous congeners by its hindwing postdiscal band, which is widely broken in spaces 2 and 3 and gets very wide in space 1. Males are ochraceous ventrally while females are deep yellow.

Male Genitalia ( Figs 12c–12e ): Aedeagus vesica with a large longitudinal cleft in the middle; valvae short and slender with apices narrowed; cleft between the valvae less than half the length of the valval plate.

Female Genitalia ( Fig. 12f ): Anterior apophysis very short and stubby; ductus bursae short and wide with base narrowed and distal end enlarged and convex; corpus bursae with a short longitudinal signum on either side bearing minute spines laterally on the inside, and a wide patch of signum connected to the base of ductus bursae.

Biology: Not known.

Natural History: Adults are typically found in forests, streams, and gardens ( Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Variation: In some individuals, the bands may be slightly wider.

Phenology in Nepal: March to November ( Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Elevation: 850– 1,650 m ( Smith 1994; Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022).

Distribution on the Indian Subcontinent: East Uttarakhand in India eastward to Nepal with disjunct records, northeastern India, Bhutan, and northeastern Bangladesh ( Van Gasse 2018).

Distribution in Nepal: Sudurpaschim Province (excluding the Terai districts), Pokhara Valley, Kathmandu Valley, and Koshi Province (excluding the Terai districts) ( 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 12. Rapala tara de Nicéville, [1889], 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; d. Male genitalia ventral view; e. Male genitalia lateral view; f. Female genitalia, ductus and corpus bursae.