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Preimaginal Stages and Natural History of Two Endemic Subspecies of Polyura Billberg (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Charaxinae) from the Andaman Islands

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Abstract

Polyura Billberg, 1820 are robust and extremely fast flying butterflies that generally keep to the canopy. Represented by P. schreiber andamanensis Prashanth Mohanraj and Veenakumari and P. athamas andamanica (Fruhstorfer) in the Andaman Islands, both are rarely seen in the field or in collections. The authors describe the hitherto unknown life histories of these two endemic subspecies. It was also confirmed that P. schreiber is confined to the mangrove habitat while P. athamas is restricted to the inland forests of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Their habitat, flight period, time of occurrence of pre-imagines and natural enemies are also dealt with.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects, P.B. No. 2491, Hebbal, Bangalore, 560024, India

    Prashanth Mohanraj & K. Veenakumari

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  1. Prashanth Mohanraj
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  2. K. Veenakumari
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Correspondence to Prashanth Mohanraj.

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Mohanraj, P., Veenakumari, K. Preimaginal Stages and Natural History of Two Endemic Subspecies of Polyura Billberg (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Charaxinae) from the Andaman Islands. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 84, 265–273 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-013-0235-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-013-0235-1

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