#1 - Blue Pansy Junonia orithya (Linnaeus, 1758)

Blue Pansy Junonia orithya (Linnaeus, 1758)

Junonia orithya is a nymphalid butterfly with many subspecies occurring from Africa, through southern and south-eastern Asia, and in Australia. In India, its common English name is the Blue Pansy. Five subspecies occur in India and in the south-east Asia. 

• Junonia orithya ocyale Hübner, [1819] (India to southern Burma and southern Yunnan)
• Junonia orithya orithya (Oriental region)
• Junonia orithya patenas (Fruhstorfer, 1912) (Sri Lanka)
• Junonia orithya swinhoei Butler, 1885 (Burma)
• Junonia orithya wallacei Distant, 1883 (Thailand, Peninsular Malaya, Singapore)

Description

Male upperside: somewhat more than half the forewing from base velvety black, apical half dull fuliginous; cell-area with or without two short transverse orange bars; a blue patch above, the tornus; the outer margin of the basal black area obliquely zigzag in a line from the middle of costa to apex of vein 2, including a large discal, generally obscure ocellus, which, however, in some specimens is prominently ringed with orange-yellow. Beyond this a broad while irregularly oblique discal band followed by a short oblique preapical bar frm costa; a small black orange-ringed ocellus beneath the bar, a subterminal continuous line of white spots in the interspaces and a terminal jet-black slender line; cilia alternately dusky black and white. Hindwing blue shaded with velvety black towards base; a postdiscal black white-centred orange and black-ringed ocellus in interspace 2, a round minutely white-centred velvety black spot (sometimes entirely absent) in interspace 5; the termen narrowly white, traversed by an inner and an outer subterminal and a terminal black line; cilia white.

A male Blue Pansy (upperside), Shirui Guest House, Ukhrul district, Manipur

Underside forewing: basal half with three black-edged, sinuous, broad, ochraceous-orange transverse bands, followed by the pale discal baud; ocelli, preapical short bar, subterminal and terminal markings much as on the upperside; the discal band margined inwardly by a broad black angulated line which follows the outline of the black area of the upperside. Hindwing irrorated with dusky scales and transversely crossed by subbasal and discal slender zigzag brown lines and a postdiscal dark shade, on which are placed the two ocelli as on the upperside; sub terminal and terminal faint brown lines, and a brownish short streak tipped black at the tornal angle below the lower ocellus.

A male Blue Pansy (underside), Shirui Guest House, Ukhrul district, Manipur

Female. Similar, with similar but larger and more clearly defined ocelli and markings; the basal half of the forewings and hindwings on the upperside fuliginous brown, scarcely any trace of blue on the hindwing. Antennae brown, head reddish brown, thorax and abdomen above brownish black: palpi, thorax and abdomen beneath dull white.

Food plants

Larval host plants are recorded from the families Acanthaceae,  Annonaceae,  Convolvulaceae,  Labiatae, Plantaginaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Verbenaceae, Violaceae and specific plants are Angelonia salicariifolia, Annona senegalensis, Antirrhinum majus, Asystasia gangetica, Asystasia scandens, Buchnera linearis, Englerastrum scandens, Hygrophila salicifolia, Hygrophila senegalensis, Ipomoea batatas, Justicia micrantha, Justicia procumbens, Lepidagathis formosensis, Lepidagathis prostrata, Misopates orontium, Phyla nodiflora, Plantago amplexicaulis, Plectranthus scandens, Pseuderanthemum variabile, Striga asiatica, Striga hermonthica, Thunbergia alata, Viola odorata.

Sightings in Manipur

Blue Pansy (Upperside), Kongbamaru, Imphal East, Manipur

The butterfly is sighted throughout the hills and valley of Manipur. The butterfly is a sun-loving butterfly always seen basking on the sun during bright sunny days. They prefer to visit flowers of varied kinds and also seen on damp grounds. The butterfly was observed from many locations during the survey. Some of the places to be mentioned here are Kangkhui, Shiroi Village, Shirui Guest House, Sihai (Ukhrul district); Nongmaiching Reserve Forest, Kongbamaru, (Imphal East district); Langol Reserve Forest (Imphal West); Thongam mondum Reserve Forest (Thoubal district); Keibul Lamjao National Park, Leimaram (Bishnupur district); Yaingangpokpi - Lokchao Wildlife Sanctuary (Chandel district). They are observed during the months of April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November.

Reference:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junonia_orithya