Choaspes benjaminii
Choaspes benjaminii, also known as the Indian awlking or common awlking, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. The species is named after Benjamin Delessert and was described on the basis of a specimen collected by Adolphe Delessert in the Nilgiris.
Range
The Indian awlking is found in Sri Lanka, India, northern Myanmar, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan.In India, the Indian awlking ranges from the Palni Hills, Nilgiris and Kodagu in the south to northern and eastern India; from Kulu to Assam and eastwards onto Myanmar.
The type locality is Nilgiris in South India.
Status
Not rare.Description
The Indian awlking is 50 to 60 mm long. It is distinguished by the shining green under hindwing with black veins, orange area with black spots on the tornus.The male butterfly is shining indigo blue above. It has purplish hairs at the base which turn greenish with age. Cilia of hindwing and anal lobe broadly ochreous red.
The female butterfly is dark shining green with bluish-grey hairs at the base. forewing with a broad pale cupreous brown band on posterior margin; hindwing with a broad ochreous-red lobular patch with black macular upper border and broad central angular streak.
Thorax greyish olive above, vertex bluish olive, abdomen brown; palpi and thorax in front and abdomen beneath, ochreous red.