Common Butterflies of Sri Lanka

S
VU
Indigo Flash Rapala varuna
Cornelian Deudorix epijarbas
S
VU
Lycaenidae
Male
It has a minute tornal tail and a circular lobe at the anal angle which acts as a false eye
at the back. The metallic indigo blue on the upper side of the male fades in to black
towards the forewing margin, varying according to the viewing angle. The pale brown
circular sex brand on its hind wing is usually concealed by the forewing. The female
is a much lighter blue with a purple wash. The underside looks similar in both sexes.
The background varies from pale brown in the dry season form to dark grayish brown
in the wet season form. Its distal bands are much broader and more irregular than in
its relatives. The cell end patch of the hind wing usually touches the distal band. It
has ‘eye spots’ both at the tornus and the lobe and black and blue scales in between.
The fast flying Indigo Flash prefers to bask at around 2.00 pm in the afternoon under
beams of light that filter down through trees to the shrubbery. Usually 2-3 individuals
participate in this activity together. It is fond of feeding on nectar from shrubs.
It is found in forests and verdant home gardens. Though it is distributed throughout
the low country, it seems to be more abundant in the wet zone than in the dry zone.
It is not a regularly observed butterfly.
The circular lobes at the anal angle of the hind wings act as false eyes, deceiving
predators that come up from its behind. The eyes are distinctly large. The upper side
of the male’s hind wing and basal parts of the forewing are deep shiny red. The rest
of the forewing is black in colour. The hind wing veins are thinly marked in black.
The upper side of the female is completely dark greyish brown with barely exposed
forewing cells in a much darker hue. The underside is similar in pattern in both sexes,
with a purplish sheen on males. Its distal bands are very broad and only merely
marked in white outlines without any distinct separation in colour in relation to the
background. Its black tornal spot is situated further inward towards the base, and is
often completely ringed in orange in contrast to only a capping in Rapala species.
The very fast flying Cornelian prefers to feed on compound flowers such as
Chromolaena odorata (fmdäisx[af[daurx). It is often seen flying around small shrubs.
This is a migrant species.
It can be seen throughout the low country in scrublands and amidst other open
vegetation but is not a frequently seen species.
False head at
the back
Lycaenidae
LFPs: Ziziphus oenoplia (ySka trñKshd)
LFPs: Seeds of Cardiospermum halicacabum (fmfk, je,a) by boreing into the fruit.
104 Common Butterflies of Sri Lanka
Common Butterflies of Sri Lanka 105