Species Details

@Gazi Shahidul Islam,Bangladesh

Melanitis zitenius

Great Evening Brown Did you see this animal?

Scientific Name : Melanitis zitenius
Family : Satyridae
Order : Lepidoptera
Class : Insecta
Phylum : Arthropoda
Habitat : All types of wildlife habitat
 
Description : This butterfly species has two seasonal forms: wet-season and dry-season. In the wet-season form, both male and female have strongly arched costa on the forewing, with an acute apex in males and a falcate (sickle-shaped) apex in females. The upperside resembles M. ismene, but the ground color is somewhat warmer brown. There is a broad patch of ochraceous yellow above and beyond the subapical black spots, larger in females than in males. The undersides are closely irrorated (sprinkled) with dark brown striae, and the ocelli are smaller and less clearly defined than in M. ismene.

In the dry-season form, the costa of the forewing is less strongly arched, and the apex is very falcate in both sexes. It differs from the wet-season form in the greater amount of ochraceous yellow on the apex of the forewing, forming a broad band that encircles the subapical black spots. The hindwing may have two or three white subterminal spots posteriorly. The undersides are similar to M. ismene but often with less variability, and the ocelli may be entirely obsolete.

Overall, this butterfly species displays distinct differences in wing shape, coloration, and markings between its wet-season and dry-season forms.
 
Distribution in Bangladesh
References:
description written by:Zarin Tasnim,Department of Zoology,University of Dhaka;information source:IUCN Red List Bangladesh-2015, www.nic.funet.fi;photo credit & copyright: Gazi Shahidul Islammore information please contact with us.