Erionota torus torus ???

[Psyche]

Generally if there are no other known subspecies, then the subspecific name is dropped. In Yutaka's website there is an unamed subspecies from Laos.

The maximun forewing lenght of thrax ( given in C&P4) at 37mm exceed that of torus at 36mm.

Sunny's beautiful shot is a pristine female which with its rounded wings probably achieved a greater wing area than the female thrax.

TL Seow

[teotp]

Thanks. Should keep one newly-eclosed one as a reference.

Just for clarification, from the references on Malaysian/Singapore species, this one is recorded as E. torus up to species level only. Somehow Pisuth classified it to subspecies level as E. torus torus in his Butterflies of Thailand book, though I'm not sure why.

Seow has also confirmed its ID as E. torus.

As far as we are concerned, the two most reliable references are C&P4 and Fleming, both of which stopped at E. torus and that is what I've recorded as well, in my book.

'Butterflies of Thailand - volume 5, page 88 & plate 30: fig. 192" of Brother Amnuay Pinratana and "The butterflies of Thailand based on Y. Kimura collection - volume 1, page 86" by Yunosuke Kimura et al, both stated as Erionota torus, Kimura also pointed out in his book (page 187) that Erionota thrax thrax by EK-Amnuay 2006, 810, pl 372 (male, female, female UN) was misidentified. Another male butterfly specimen collected by Akito Kawazoe in 1964 also identified as E. torus.

Brigadier W. H. Evans in his book "A catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia & Australia, page 326" stated only one species (no sub-sp) and named Erionota torus. He is the person first decribed this species (type specimen from Sikkim) in 1941. This is why: "Erionota torus Evans 1941"

Teo T P