Species Rapala varuna (Horsfield, 1829)
Indigo Flash
Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement
- Waterhouse, G.A. & Lyell, G. 1914. The Butterflies of Australia: a monograph of the Australian Rhopalocera introducing a complete scheme of structural classification, and giving descriptions and illustrations of all the butterflies found in Australia, including a number now recorded for the first time. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 239 pp. 38 pls + 3 unnumbered colour pls. [Date published 25 July 1914] [133]
- Edwards, E.D. 1996. Lycaenidae. pp. 249-254, 360-363 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [251]
Distribution
States
Queensland
Extra Distribution Information
Extralimital distribution—Indonesia (Irian Jaya, Maluku), Papua New Guinea, Oriental Region.
IBRA
Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Plains (GUP), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), NSW North Coast (NNC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)
Other Regions
Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- Queensland: N Gulf, NE coastal
- Indonesia
- Irian Jaya
- Maluku
- Papua New Guinea
Oriental Region
Ecological Descriptors
Larva: herbivore (associated flora: Dendrolobium umbellatum (L.) Benth. [FABACEAE] Horse Bush; Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre [FABACEAE] Pongamia Tree; Alphitonia excelsa (A.Cunn. ex Fenzl) Benth. [RHAMNACEAE] Red Ash; Litchi chinensis Sonner. [SAPINDACEAE]; Elaeagnus triflora Wall. ex Roxb. [ELAEAGNACEAE]; Albizia lebbeck (Willd.) Benth. [MIMOSACEAE]; Acacia polystachya Benth. [FABACEAE]).
Extra Ecological Information
Introduced plants include Albizia lebbeck (Mimosaceae), Litchi chinensis (Sapindaceae).
Details of nominate subspecies, not present in Australia
Rapala varuna varuna (Horsfield, 1829)
Thecla varuna Horsfield, T. 1829. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Lepidopterous Insects contained in the Museum of the Honourable East-India Company, illustrated by coloured figures of new species and of the metamorphosis of Indian Lepidoptera, with introductory observations on a general arrangement of this order of insects. London : Parbury, Allen and Co. Pt 2 pp. 81–144 pls 5–8 [publication date: Corbet, A.S. 1939. The date of Thomas Horsfield's "A Descriptive Catalogue of the Lepidopterous Insects Contained in the Museum of the Honourable East India Company". Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 1(7): 196 [196]] [91] [publication date: Corbet, A.S. 1939. The date of Thomas Horsfield's "A Descriptive Catalogue of the Lepidopterous Insects Contained in the Museum of the Honourable East India Company". Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 1(7): 196].
Type data: lectotype BMNH ♂*; Horsfield in the original description listed one male and two females but did not mention a type.
Subsequent designation: Parsons, M.J. 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea; their systematics and biology. San Diego : Academic Press 736 pp. [407] (referred to a holotype and gave type information); Edwards, E.D., Newland, J. & Regan, L. 2001. Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea. In Wells, A. & Houston, W.W.K. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 31.6. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. x 615 pp. (interpret Parson's (1998) reference to a holotype as a lectotype designation (Art. 74, ICZN 1985)).
Type locality: Java (no locality given in original description), see Kirby, W.F. 1871. A Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera. London : John van Voorst [vii] 690 pp. [417] (884; gave Java as the locality of origin of this species); Waterhouse, G.A. & Lyell, G. 1914. The Butterflies of Australia: a monograph of the Australian Rhopalocera introducing a complete scheme of structural classification, and giving descriptions and illustrations of all the butterflies found in Australia, including a number now recorded for the first time. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 239 pp. 38 pls + 3 unnumbered colour pls [133] (gave Java as the locality of origin for this species); Parsons, M.J. 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea; their systematics and biology. San Diego : Academic Press 736 pp. [407] (gave the locality on the label of the lectotype as Java).
General References
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07-Mar-2024 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Feb-2023 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 22-Dec-2023 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby (ANU) |
| 13-May-2022 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 26-Feb-2021 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Jun-2020 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Jun-2020 | LYCAENIDAE Leach, 1815 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 06-Sep-2017 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 06-Sep-2017 | LYCAENIDAE | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Federica Turco (QM) |
| 05-Mar-2013 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 30-Mar-2012 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 28-Mar-2012 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED |