199. Cigaritis syama latipicta (The Club Silverline)

Number: 199

Family: Lycaeniidae
Sub-Family: Thecliinae

Species: Cigaritis syama latipicta (Fruhstorfer, [1912])

Common name(s): The Club Silverline

Photography location: Tam Dao foothills (Vinh Phuc Prov.)

Eight species of Cigaritis are known from Vietnam: C. lohita (2 subsp.), C. syama (2 subsp.), C. seliga, C. vulcanus, C. vixinga, C. gigas, C. leechi, C. evansii. In Tonkin (North of the country), lohita and syama are the most frequently encountered.
Cigaritis syama latipicta is replaced further south by C. syama peguanus.

Cigaritis syama latipicta, Tam Dao, mid-June 2016

99. Cigaritis lohita panasa (The Long-banded Silverline)

Number: 99

Family: Lycaeniidae
Sub-Family: Thecliinae

Species: Cigaritis lohita panasa (Fruhstorfer, [1912])

Common name(s): The Long-banded Silverline

Photography location: Cuc Phuong N.P. (Ninh Binh Prov.)

The genus Cigaritis is represented in Vietnam by 8 species viz. lohita, syama, seliga, vulcanus, vixinga, gigas, leechi & evansii. Two subspecies of C. lohita are recognized in the country: panasa and himalayanus (Monastyrskii & Devyatkin, 2016).

Cigaritis lohita panasa feeding on Bidens flower

Underneath, both sexes are similar with a pale yellow ground colour. Both wings are traversed by 5 or 6 silverlines broadly edged with dark red or black.

A very attractive species !

Close-up view on the silver lines on the underwings

The colour of the bands can vary greatly