Top 20 Most Common Insects in Maharashtra

The forewing has two transverse short black lines at the base, a black loop across the middle, and another beyond the apex of the cell, with their centres dark brown, followed by an angulated discal dark brown band bordered outwardly by a series of five white spots; two preapical white spots beyond and a broad, somewhat diffuse, subterminal black band broadening over the apex and angulated inwards in interspace 1.Hindwing shaded with dark brown at base, two crescent-shaped dark brown loop-like marks in cell; a discal series of dark brown, elongate, outwardly acute, inwardly diffuse, somewhat hastate spots, followed by a subterminal series of small spots of the same colour. Underside ochraceous brown. Forewing on the underside shows five transverse slender black lines across cell; a black spot below median vein; discal and preapical white spots as on the upperside, succeeded by a postdiscal series of somewhat diffuse crescent-shaped black marks, and a broad terminal pale lilac band not reaching the apex, bordered narrowly along the termen with dark brown. Hindwing with four or five slender black loops at base, a posteriorly obsolescent postdiscal series of diffuse black marks and a subterminal series of black dots; the termen near apex touched with pale lilac. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen dark brown, the antennae ochraceous at the tip, the body paler beneath. The female is similar but of a paler shade. Upperside forewing differs from that of the male in the absence of the dark discal and subterminal bands, and in the series of discal spots being elongate, much larger.

Male upperside is purplish brown or purplish with a dark tint, some specimens brown with a very slight purplish sheen seen only in certain lights. Forewings and hindwings are nearly uniform, both with slender black anteciliary lines, the hindwing in addition with the costal and dorsal margins paler; in most specimens with a subterminal black spot in interspace 2, sometimes seen only by transparency from the underside; tail black tipped with white. Underside is brown, hoary, brownish or pale dull brown. Forewing: a subbasal pair of transverse white strigae, a shorter pair along the discocellulars and a discal pair; these strigae all narrowly edged on the inner sides of each pair with fuscous which gives the appearance of transverse bands somewhat darker than the ground colour; the subbasal pair extend from vein 1 to vein 12, the discocellular pair from upper to lower apex of cell and the discal pair are very irregular and dislocated at each vein, the whole having the appearance of a dark sinuous band; terminal markings often very faint and ill defined or again fairly prominent and consisting of a double subterminal series of transversely linear, sometimes lunular, dark spots, with edgings paler than the ground colour; lastly, an anteciliary dark line. Hindwing: with transverse pairs of white, inwardly fuscous-edged strigae similar to those on the forewing, but even more irregular and broken; the subbasal pair extended from costa to vein 1, below which the dorsal area is whitish, the discocellular pair extend from the costa and posteriorly coalesce with the discal pair which are as irregular and dislocated as in the forewing; terminal markings similar to those on the forewing, but the double subterminal series of dark spots more lunular and a prominent round black subterminal spot crowned with ochraceous in interspace 2. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen dark brown; the shafts of the antennae speckled with white; beneath: the palpi fringed with black, thorax dark greyish brown, abdomen white. Female upperside: brownish purple, sometimes fuscous. Forewings and hindwings: as in the male with anteciliary dark lines, but differ as follows: Forewing: an iridescent bluish sheen from base outwards to disc; hindwing; a slender more or less prominent white line edging the anteciliary black line on the inner side, a sub terminal geminate (paired) double black spot in interspace 1 and a similar larger single spot in interspace 2. Underside: ground colour paler and brighter than in the male, the markings similar but more neatly and generally more clearly defined; both forewings and hindwings in most of the specimens have a white terminal line before the anteciliary dark line. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen much as in the male.

Like many tropical butterflies, this species shows seasonal polyphenism, with the appearance differing between adults according to the season. Male upperside has the ground colour pale bluish white. The forewing has the terminal margin narrowly edged with black that broadens very slightly towards the apex of the wing; the cilia are brownish black. The hindwing is uniformly coloured, except for an anteciliary black line faintly edged on the inner side by a white line within which and touching it is a row of black spots, the anterior spots very faint, the spot in interspace 2 large and well-defined, two geminate (paired) spots in interspace 1 and a very small black lunular dot in interspace 1a; cilia brown, white at the base in the interspaces. In specimens obtained in the height of the dry season the black edging to the termen of the forewing is much reduced and the subterminal series of black spots in the hindwing is altogether missing. The underside is greyish brown. The forewing has seven transverse white bands as follows: two short bands one each side of the discocellulars, the inner one continued downwards to vein 1 and both represented at the costa by two detached spots; two parallel discal bands, the inner one broken at and the outer one terminating on vein 3; two parallel subterminal bands, the outer one slightly lunular; lastly, a more slender terminal band followed by an anteciliary slender black line; the dorsal margin narrowly white; cilia brownish black, their bases white in the interspaces. Hindwing: crossed by nine white bands or lines as follows: three between base of wing and apex of cell, those posteriorly in interspace 1 or on vein 1 abruptly turn upwards and terminate on the dorsum; the first band beyond the cell extends from vein 6 to vein 2, then curves upwards in interspace 1; the next extends straight from just below the costa to vein 4, thus overlapping the previous band for a short distance; the next or postdiscal band runs between the costa and vein 3, the subterminal two also between the costa and vein 3 but the inner one of the two bands is extended down to interspace 1 and there curves upwards towards the dorsum; both the subterminal bands are more or less lunular; in the interspace below vein 2 is a large subterminal black spot speckled with metallic blue scales and bordered inwardly by ochraceous orange; there are also in interspaces la and 1 two black dots inwardly edged by a short white streak set in an ochraceous background; lastly, there is a complete terminal white line followed by a black anteciliary line and a filamentous short black white-tipped tail at apex of vein 2; cilia as on the upperside. Antennae brownish black, the shafts as usual tinged with white; head, thorax and abdomen pale brown, bluish on thorax and base of abdomen; beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen white, the third joint of the palpi and the second joint anteriorly black. The female has the upperside ground colour paler than in the male, often quite white; terminal black edging to forewing very much broader, broadest at apex, its margin there diffuse. Hindwing: differs from that of the male as follows: costal margin broadly dusky black; a postdiscal transverse series of dusky-black connected lunules often more or less obsolescent; this is followed by a series of black spots each set in a background of the white ground colour; an anteciliary slender black line as in the male. The underside ground colour is paler than in the male, the markings however are identical. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male. Closely resembles the males and females of the dry-season brood; the markings are similar but the ground colour is generally darker both on the upper and undersides, while the black edging to the forewing and the black postdiscal and terminal markings to the hindwing on the upperside are broader and more clearly defined. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the dry-season brood.

The commander has a wingspan of about 6 to 7.5 cm (2.4 to 3.0 in). The upperside of its wings are a bright reddish brown. Towards the centre of the wing are broad white spots. In flight, one can see a bright red brown butterfly with a white band forming a V shape. There are also a few white spots scattered on the wings. Its hindwings have crenulated margins. The undersides of the wings are a whitish grey toward the base and have a row of dull reddish brown and a row of black spots along the margins. The male and female are similar in appearance. Male and female. Upper side, ground colour rich ferruginous-red, the basal area slightly tinged with olivescent yellowish-ferruginous. Cilia alternately black and white. Forewing with three black slender bars crossing the cell, and three similar bars below the cell between the basal interspaces of the middle and lower medians; beyond the cell is a large outwardly-oblique pure bluish-white more or less triangulate spot followed by a transverse discal macular band, broadest in the dry-season brood, composed of a series of large broad pure bluish-white spots proceeding from the costa to the posterior margin, of which the upper five are subapical and disposed obliquely outward, the third and fourth being ovate, the upper two very slender and divided by the second subcostal branch, the fifth much the smallest; the next four are disposed somewhat obliquely inward and are much larger, the sixth (or upper) triangularly ovate, the seventh longest and bluntly ovate or somewhat quadrate, the eighth quadrate with its outer edge indented, and the lowest narrow; all these white spots are bordered with black, which colour broadly extends from the cell along the costa and thence decreases hindward; beyond is an outer marginal broad lunularly inner-edged, or occasionally dentate, black waved band, which is traversed by two contiguous slender grey sinuous marginal lines. Hindwing with three black slender bars crossing the cell, and a small spot between the basal interspaces of the veins above the cell; a transverse medial discal broad pure bluish-white macular black-bordered band terminating at the submedian, its inner edge somewhat regular and its outer edge scalloped ; followed by an outer discal row of black ill-shaped cordate spots, which are more or less obsolescent posteriorly, or occasionally entirely absent, a similar submarginal row of smaller dentate spots, and then a contiguous narrow waved black marginal band traversed by two slender grey sinuous lines. Underside. Basal area bluish or olive-grey, the outer discal area and the apical veins of forewing bright red; discocellular spot on forewing and transverse discal macular band, as above, bluish-white or greyish-white and black bordered; basal bars black, with the interspace between the middle cell bars and of those below the cell on the forewing bright red; marginal markings as above, except that the marginal sinuous fines are violet-grey, and the inner line broadly encompassing the submarginal black spots on the hindwing. Body above red; palpi above black, beneath greenish-white; body beneath and legs bluish-grey; antennse black, tip reddish beneath; eyes bronzy-brown.

Male. The upperside of its wings is mainly white. Forewing has the costa, apex and termen edged with black, the edging much broader on apex and termen; base outwards for a short distance more or less densely overlaid. with metallic blue scales which cover and make indistinct a large basal outwardly clavate (club-shaped) black spot; a transverse black oval spot on the discocellulars touching the black edging on the costa; an oblique irregular line of four quadrate black spots beyond, the upper spot coalesced with the black on the costal border, the next spot below shifted outwards out of line, touching, as does also the lowest spot, the terminal black edging; posterior to this is a quadrate black spot in the apical half of interspace 2, and placed obliquely outwards from 1b coalescent with the terminal black border, another similar spot in interspace 1. Hindwing: three basal black somewhat coalescent spots overlaid with metallic blue scaling; the costal margin above the subcostal vein and vein 7 black; this colour filling also the base of interspace 6, where in some specimens it is divided into a basal portion with a spot beyond; a postdiscal curved transverse black band followed by a subterminal transverse series of black spots, each spot edged inwardly and outwardly by very slender lunules of the white ground colour; on the inner side of the postdiscal band posteriorly is a broken line of four black generally coalescent spots two and two, the two upper often touching the postdiscal band. Underside primarily white. Forewing has a long oblique black band from base outwards to the costa; below it and obliquely placed an irregular black somewhat conical mark; following these are two outwardly oblique, medially interrupted, black macular bands; the inner of the two extended from costa along the discocellulars, is then widely interrupted below its posterior portion that is formed of two elongate coalescent spots and touches the inner subterminal transverse line of elongate spots just above the tornus; the outer, obliquely placed line is subapical and medially broken, the middle portion consisting of a quadrate spot is shifted outwards; finally, two parallel subterminal transverse series of black elongate spots, the inner series of broad, more or less rectangular spots, the outer series of more linear spots, the latter coalescent anteriorly with a slender anteciliary black line. Hindwing: a transverse basal black band, with an elongate black spot below it on the dorsum; a transverse subbasal line of four well-separated black spots; a transverse, oval, discocellular black spot and obliquely above it three subcostal similar spots, the inner two coalescent; postdiscal and terminal markings consist, the former of four black posterior spots two and two, each pair coalescent and placed en echelon, the latter of a transverse double series of subterminal black spots and an anteciliary black line; the upper portion of the postdiscal markings touches the inner subterminal line. Cilia of both forewings and hindwings white alternated with black at the apices of the veins; filamentous short tail to the hindwing black tipped with white. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black, the shafts of the antennae ringed with white, the head between the eyes and behind them white; beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen white, the last barred broadly with white on the sides.Female. Similar to the male but with the black markings on the upper and undersides broader. The larva is of the usual woodlouse form, much flattened towards the anal segment which is very broad; head concealed; colour bright green with a double, dorsal, yellow line and the sides powdered with small yellow spots. Pupa is intensely glossy as if covered with gum. It varies in colour, being sometimes black, at others green with inconstant black markings.

Catochrysops strabo, the forget-me-not, is a small butterfly found in Asia that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. It is found in Sri Lanka, India, from Sikkim to Indochina and in Sundaland, Sulawesi and the Philippines. The wingspan is 25–30 mm. The larvae feed on Ougeinia dalbergioides, Schleichera trijuga and Desmodium species.

Dry-season form - Upperside black, with pure white markings. Forewing discoidal streak clavate (club shaped), apically truncate, subapically either notched or sometimes indistinctly divided; triangular spot beyond broad, well defined, acute at apex, but not elongate; discal series of spots separate, not connate (united), each about twice as long as broad; postdiscal transverse series of small spots incomplete, but some are always present. Hindwing: subbasal band of even or nearly oven width; discal and subterminal pale lines obscure; postdiscal series of spots well separated, quadrate or subquadrate, very seldom narrow. Underside from pale golden ochraceous to dark ochraceous almost chocolate; white markings as on the upperside, but broader and defined in black. Forewing: interspaces 1a and 1 from base to near the apex shaded with black, some narrow transverse white markings on either side of the transverse postdiscal series of small spots. Hindwing a streak of white on costal margin at base, a more slender white streak below it; the discal and subterminal pale lines of the upperside replaced by narrow white lines with still narrower margins of black. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black; the palpi, thorax and abdomen beneath dusky white. Wet-season form - Differs only in the narrowness of the white markings and in the slightly darker ground colour and broader black margins to the spots and bands on the underside. More than 20 subspecies have been described. This species has been observed to make sounds whose function has not been established.

The spotted rustic is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of 5 - 6 cm with a tawny colour and marked with black spots. The underside of the butterfly is more glossy than the upper and both the male and female are similar looking. A more prominent purple gloss on the underside is found in the dry-season form of this butterfly. Male aud female. Upperside bright yellowish-ochreous. Forewing with two black short slender sinuous bars across middle of the cell, a similar darker pair at its end, followed beyond by a short broad sinuous streak from the costa to the lower radial, and is then succeeded below the cell by an inwardly-oblique series of four irregular-shaped spots, and beyond by a medial-discal transverse row of similarly disposed narrow spots, an outer-discal row of round spots, then an inner submarginal sinuous line, confluent with an outer straight line, and a marginal row of triangular spots. Hindwing with a slightly-defined slender black lunule within the cell, two before its end, and two also above it; a transverse inner-discal irregular series of slender lunules which are slightly pale bordered externally; a medial-discal row of four larger black oval spots, two submarginal sinuous slightly confluent lines, and marginal triangular spots. Underside paler, and with all the markings, as on upperside much less defined; the interspaces of cell-bars and outer markings suffused with violet-grey, and the inner-discal series outwardly bordered with greyish lunules. In some specimens, presumably dry-season, all the markings on the upper and underside are less prominent. Body and palpi above yellowish-ochreous; beneath and also femora beneath greyish-white; tibia and tarsi pale ochreous; antennae ochreous-brown.

In general, all butterflies can directly absorb heat from the sun via their wings to facilitate autonomous flight. Studies on blue tiger butterflies show that high-intensity light significantly increased flight activity. Blue tiger butterflies have a wing surface color that is composed of both light and dark colors. The dark areas on the wing surfaces are the heat absorption areas that allow for the facilitation of autonomous flight.

Wet-season brood. Male upperside: white, a greyish-blue shade at base of the wings and along the veins, due to the dark markings on the underside that show through. Forewing: veins black; apex and termen black, the inner margin of that colour extended in an irregular curve from middle of costa to base of terminal third of vein 4, thence continued obliquely outwards to the tornal angle; interspaces 6 and 9 with short narrow greyish-white streaks of the ground colour that stretch into the black apical area but do not reach the margin; a short black subterminal bar between veins 3 and 4 and another, less clearly defined, between veins 1 and 2. Hindwing: veins 4 to 7 with outwardly dilated broad black edgings that coalesce sometimes and form an anterior, irregular, black, terminal margin to the wing. Underside, forewing: white, the veins broadly margined on both sides by dusky black; costal margin broadly and apex suffused with yellow; subterminal black bars between veins 1 and 2, and 3, and 4 as on the upperside but less clearly defined. Hindwing entirely suffused with yellow, the veins diffusely bordered with black; a more or less incomplete, subterminal series of dusky spots in interspaces 1 to 6; more often than not the spot in 5 entirely absent; a conspicuous chrome-yellow spot on the precostal area. Antennae black, obscurely speckled with white; head and thorax bluish grey; abdomen dusky black; beneath: the palpi and abdomen white, the thorax yellow. Female similar to the male but very much darker. Upperside: veins more broadly bordered with black; in many specimens only the following portions of the white ground colour are apparent. Forewing: a broad streak in cell and beyond it a discal series of streaks in interspaces 1 to 6, 9, and 10; the streaks in interspaces 1 and 3 very broadly interrupted by the transverse black bars; that in 6 more or less obsolescent. Hindwing: a broad streak in cell, a discal series of streaks in interspaces 2 to 7, and a posterior more or less obsolescent subterminal series of greyish-white double spots. Underside similar to that of the male only the veins much more broadly margined with diffuse black scaling. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male. Dry-season brood. These differ from the wet-season brood as follows: male upperside, forewing: the apical and terminal black areas much restricted; veins concolorous; black subterminal bare less clearly defined; the lower one often obsolete. Hindwing: the black markings on the termen represented by short triangular irrorations (speckles) of black scales at the apices chiefly of the anterior veins. Underside: as in the wet-season, but the yellow much paler and somewhat ochraceous in tint. Female differs less from the wet-season female, but the black markings on both the upper and underside are narrower and less pronounced, and on the latter the yellow suffusion is paler and ochraceous in tint.