ID Help Request!!

[Saffron]

Dear Dr. Seow
A request from NE India for these Heliophorus!!
I feel never too confident about the ID's of Heliophorus androcles/moorei...
Need your expert opinion...

Here...

No.1
23868 23869



No.2
23870 23871



No.3
23872



No.4
23873 23874



No.5
23875 23876



No.6
23877



No.7
23878



No.8
23879


Thanks in advance
Atanu Bora:cheers:

[Saffron]

All of them are photographed in Meghalaya, India
Altitude 1400/1500mm...

Thanks:
Atanu Bora

[Psyche]

They all should be H. androcles.

THe two have been mixed up in the past.

H. androcles androcles upperside green/ bluegreen with a bronzy tint ; inner margin of black border relatively straight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliophorus_androcles#/media/File:Andrhe.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8c/e0/b1/8ce0b12add9382576bcdefaa370bdd8f.jpg

H. moorei moorei Brilliant metallic blue ; inner margin of black border gently curved.
Male Bhuta.
http://biodiversity.bt/biodiv/observations//adf7e660-1f4a-4983-a6d7-9591652080e5/335_gall.jpg


TL Seow : Cheers.

[Saffron]

Thank you so much Seow sir...
It's been a great help for me...there is still a big confusion in our region about their ID...
I am sure this will help me a lot in my future identification of the two...

Thanks
Atanu Bora::cheers:

[Saffron]

Sorry sir, but with all my effort, I am not able to point out the "inner margin of the black border" which you describes as one of the key to differentiate the two species...I will be very grateful if you please specify the same...

Thanks
Atanu Bora

[Psyche]

I was merely quoting Evan's decription.

The inner margin of the black border = the outer margin of the metallic blue/green patch on the FW.

There are a lot of confusion still.
Ssp coruscans first placed as a ssp of androcles but now is a ssp of moorei is described by Evan as briliant metallic green.

There are a lot of conflicting images on the net.

These should be good for H. moorei moorei.
http://indiabiodiversity.org/observation/show/396498
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Powdery_Green_Sapphire_Heliophorus_tamu_Eaglenest_ WLS_Arunachal_Pradesh_India.jpg

I am not too sure of the other subspecies, but Evan called H. moorei coruscans the Green Sapphire, not H androcles androcles.

TL Seow : Cheers.

[Saffron]

Aahh...Thanks a lot sir...I was just guessing the same!!
Things becomes a bit clear to me now...

Atanu Bora:cheers:

[Psyche]

There is very literature on Heliophorus, but I am confident you have H. androcles.

H. androcles ; FW green with a bronzy tint, outer edge of green straight; Underside postdiscal lines wavy.

Below though not the same individual , taken in the same area on the same day. Heliophorus congregates in small colonies.
http://www.flutters.org/home/html/photos.php?level=picture&id=1547
http://www.flutters.org/home/html/photos.php?level=picture&id=1546

H. moorei moorei. FW bright blue, outer edge of blue curved; Underside postdiscal lines straight ie not wavy.
http://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/media_images/2015/137_9713-46-564e0bdb42d0a-2.jpg
http://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/media_images/2015/137_9713-46-564e0bdb42d0a-1.jpg

Ssp coruscans is stated by Evan to be green but the original description by Moore is blue.
http://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofgen82zool#page/248/mode/1up

I will leave these two alone but the undersides should have the postdiscal lines straight as in ssp moorei.

TL Seow: Cheers.

[Saffron]

All clear sir...
Thanks a lot for the million dollar description on these two confusing species...
I am confident now they are H. androcles not moorei...

Atanu Bora:cheers: