Today quite a number of butterfly circle members were at TBHP to enjoy the butterfly activities induced by the sunny (but windy) weather and the flowering plants.
I think most of us shot this arhopala. The closest match to the checklist seems to be Arhopala athada athada. Can anyone confirm this?
Unlike Richard, who appears to be very sure of the ID, most of us would prefer not to venture an ID for field shots of the Arhopalas, except for the very distinctive species.
Take a look at the Plates 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 51 of Arhopalas in C&P4 and you should know why we'll just pass it off as an Arhopala sp. most of the time.
Firstly, even though this specimen bears some resemblance to A. athada, I cannot be sure, cos the tails have been clipped off, and the characteristic forewing markings unfortunately partially hidden in the shot. The underside spots are consistent with the cleander subgroup of Arhopalas but I would not be able to definitively nail down the ID.
Take your shot and compare it with the ID key in C&P4, particularly focusing on page 273. See if you can better convince yourself what it is.
Thanks Richard and Khew for the comments on the ID of this arhopola.
Reading the pages as indicated by Khew does point to the difficulty in IDing these butts. I will leave its ID as arhopola spp. with a possiblity of being athada.
May be one of these days Khew could take a voucher specimen for a more scientific examination and a more definite ID of this arhopala at TBHP.
Early Stages Specialist
Arhopala athada athada
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