Luthrodes pandava

Plains Cupid
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Luthrodes
Species:
L. pandava
Binomial name
Luthrodes pandava
(Horsfield, 1829)[1]
Synonyms
  • Lycaena pandava Horsfield, [1829]
  • Edales pandava
  • Chilades pandava
  • Catochrysops nicola Swinhoe, 1885
  • Catochrysops bengalia de Nicéville, 1885
  • Catochrysops vapanda Semper, 1890
Fight to mate; this behaviour is common among the blues.
Left, upperside of female; right underside of male, from Adalbert Seitz

Luthrodes pandava[2] also called the Plains Cupid[3][1] or cycad blue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in South Asia,[3] Myanmar, United Arab Emirates, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Java, Sumatra and the Philippines.[1] They are among the few butterflies that breed on cycads, known for their leaves being toxic to most vertebrates.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Savela, Markku. "Luthrodes pandava (Horsfield, [1829])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  2. ^ Horsfield, Thomas (1829). Descriptive Catalogue of the Lepidopterous Insects Contained in the Museum of the Horourable East-India Company. London: East India Company. pp. 84–86.
  3. ^ a b R.K., Varshney; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. p. 143. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
  4. ^ Ravikanthachari Nitin; V.C. Balakrishnan; Paresh V. Churi; S. Kalesh; Satya Prakash; Krushnamegh Kunte (2018-04-10). "Larval host plants of the butterfies of the Western Ghats, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 10 (4): 11495–11550. doi:10.11609/jott.3104.10.4.11495-11550 – via JoTT.