Heliophorus epicles

Heliophorus epicles, commonly known as the purple sapphire, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly found in Asia.^[1] The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Godart in 1823.

Purple sapphire
From Pahalgam, Kashmir, India
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Heliophorus
Species:	H. epicles
Binomial name
Heliophorus epicles Godart 1823

Subspecies

The subspecies of Heliophorus epicles are:^[2][3]

• Heliophorus epicles epicles Fruhstorfer, 1918 – western Java
• Heliophorus epicles hilima Fruhstorfer, 1912 – eastern Java
• Heliophorus epicles latilimbata Fruhstorfer, 1908 – Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, Myanmar, Andamans, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, southern Yunnan
• Heliophorus epicles tweediei Eliot, 1963 – Peninsular Malaya
• Heliophorus epicles sumatrensis Fruhstorfer, 1908 – Sumatra
• Heliophorus epicles phoenicoparyphus Holland, 1887 – Hainan

Distribution

In India, this butterfly can only be traced in the Himalayas at 2000–7000 ft (600–2100 m). Apart from that they can be found from Kumaon in the Himalayas to southern Myanmar. They mainly inhabit in dense forest region.^[4][5][6]

Gallery

• 
  In Uttar Pradesh, India
• 
  In Himachal Pradesh, India
• 
  Male on left, female right
• 
  Male at Samsing in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India
• 
  Male at Samsing
• 
  Male at Samsing
• 
  Male at Samsing
• 
  Male at Samsing
• 
  Female at Samsing
• 
  Female at Samsing
• 
  Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
• 
  Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

See also

• List of butterflies of India
• List of butterflies of India (Lycaenidae)

References

1. R.K., Varshney; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
2. Savela, Markku. "Heliophorus epicles (Godart, [1824])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
3. "Heliophorus epicles Godart, 1823 – Purple Sapphire". Retrieved 28 March 2017.
4. Pratap Singh, Arun (2011). Butterflies of India (1st ed.). Uttar Pradesh: Om Books International. p. 77. ISBN 978-93-80069-60-9.
5. Mahapatra, A.K. "A preliminary study on diversity of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Macrolepidoptera) in Regional Institute of Education campus, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India" (PDF). Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies. 4 (2): 489–496. ISSN 2320-7078. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
6. Pal, S.; et al. "Holistic Survey On Butterfly Diversity at Two Selected Regions of the Northern Parts of Bengal, India". International Research Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences. 2 (4): 42–57. ISSN 2349-4077. Retrieved 16 February 2017.

• Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society.
• Gaonkar, Harish (1996). Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India (including Sri Lanka) - A Biodiversity Assessment of a Threatened Mountain System. Bangalore, India: Centre for Ecological Sciences.
• Gay, Thomas; Kehimkar, Isaac David; Punetha, Jagdish Chandra (1992). Common Butterflies of India. Nature Guides. Bombay, India: World Wide Fund for Nature-India by Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195631647.
• Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation.
• Kunte, Krushnamegh (2000). Butterflies of Peninsular India. India, A Lifescape. Hyderabad, India: Universities Press. ISBN 978-8173713545.
• Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 978-8170192329.