Top 20 Most Common Insects in Nepal

The scientific name of the species was first validly published in 1782 by Caspar Stoll.

Male: Upperwings are black and irrorated (sprinkled) with dark green scales, which on the outer portion of the forewing coalesce and form an incomplete postdiscal narrow band which is straighter than the similar subterminal band on the forewing of Papilio polyctor. Underside opaque black; bases of both forewings and hindwings, up to basal half of cell in forewing and up to apex of cell in hindwing, with an irroration of yellowish scales; also present more obscurely on the subterminal area in both wings. Forewing with a very broad elongate triangular pale area that does not extend to the termen, formed of internervular broad very pale ochraceous-white streaks, short near the tornus, gradually longer up to the costa. Hindwing: a prominent subterminal series of ochraceous-red lunules traversed by short violet-blue lines; in interspaces 1,2 and sometimes in 3, these lunules are formed into more or less complete largely black centred eyespots by the addition of an admarginal portion of the red ring. Cilia conspicuously white in the interspaces. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black, the latter three sprinkled with green scales above. Female: Similar to the male but somewhat paler and duller. Upperside of the forewing has the green postdiscal band shorter and more incomplete than in the male. Underside of wings similar to that in the male, but the tornal and subtornal markings generally formed into more or less complete eyespots. Wingspan: 11 - 13 cm.

The butterfly closely resembles the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) of the Americas. The wingspan is 70 to 95 millimetres (2.8 to 3.7 in). Both sexes of the butterfly have tawny wings with veins marked with broad black bands. The male has a pouch on the hindwing. The margins of the wings are black with two rows of white spots. The underside of the wings resembles the upperside but is paler in colouration. The male common tiger has a prominent black-and-white spot on the underside of the hindwing. In drier regions the tawny part of the hindwing pales and approaches white in colour making it very similar to the white tiger (D. melanippus).

The male has a reddish-brown face, with eyes that are crimson above and brown on the sides. The thorax is red with a fine, purple pruinescence. The abdomen, the base of which is swollen, is crimson with a violet tinge. The wings are transparent with crimson venation and the base has a broad amber patch. The wing spots are a dark reddish-brown and the legs are black. The female has an olivaceous or bright reddish-brown face with eyes that are purplish-brown above and grey below. The thorax is olivaceous with brown median and black lateral stripes. The abdomen is reddish-brown with median and lateral black markings. The black markings are confluent at the end of each segment and enclose a reddish-brown spot. The wings are transparent with brown tips. The venation is bright yellow to brown and basal amber markings are pale. The wing spots are a dark brown and the lags are dark grey with narrow yellow stripes.

Male. "The upperside of the male is chalky-white, sometimes with a more or less broad and clearly defined basal sulphur-yellow area on both fore and hind wings; this sulphur-yellow colour is at times diffused over the whole surface of the wings, though generally it becomes paler towards the terminal margins. For the fore wing, the whole, or sometimes only the apical half, of the costa narrowly black, this color widened out irregularly at the apex; termen widely black at the apex, the colour narrowed posteriorly. This border in some specimens almost reaches the tornus, in others terminates above vein 4; occasionally it is continued posteriorly by a series of block dots at the apices of the veins. The Hind wing generally are uniform, unmarked, and some specimens bear minute black dots at the apices of the veins. "On the underside the groundcolour is very variable, with white with a slight to strong ochraceous tinge, greenish white or sulphur-yellow. The fore wing is typically without markings, in some specimens with a patch of sulphur-yellow on either side of base of median nervure, in the very yellow examples the tornal area is often widely greenish white, in others (Catopsilia catilla, Cramer) it bears a spot variable in size on the discocellulars. This spot has a pearly centre and an outer reddish line. Many specimens have an irregular angulated narrow discal reddish line (the colour varies in intensity) that runs from the costa obliquely outwards to vein 7, and then obliquely inwards to vein 2, though this line is often absent in specimens that bear the discocellular spot; apex and termen sometimes very narrowly reddish. The hind wing is typically uniform, without markings." Female. "On the female upperside the ground-color varies as in the male, but sometimes it is chalky white at the bases of the wings, with the terminal margins more or less broadly sulphur-yellow. Fore wings always with a round, occasionally quadrate, black discocellular spot variable in size; in some specimens the costa is black only towards the apex of the wing, in others broadly black throughout and opposite the apex of cell so widened out as to touch the discocellular spot. In lightly marked specimens in addition to the discocellular spot, there is only an irregular terminal black band dentate inwardly and widest at the apex of the wing; in others there is in addition a more or less diffuse highly curved macular postdiscal band that extends from the costa obliquely outwards down to vein 7, where it often touches the terminal black band, and thence is continued downward and slightly inclined inwards to interspace 1, getting gradually paler and fainter posteriorly. Hind wing are a series of terminal inter-spacial black spots that vary in size, and in the dark forms coalesce into a terminal black band."

The species is on the IUCN Red List as not endangered, year of assessment 2007.

It is brown with numerous eyespots as well as black and lemon-yellow spots and lines on the upperside of the wings. The underside is a dull brown, with a number of wavy lines and spots in varying shades of brown and black. There is also an eyespot on the lower side of the forewing. The wet- and dry-season forms differ considerably in coloration and even shape. In the wet-season form the markings are distinct and vivid and the wing shape is a little more rounded. In the dry-season form the markings are obscure and pale especially on the underside and the wing margin is more angular and jagged.

The species is on the IUCN Red List as not endangered, year of assessment 2010.

Diplacodes trivialis is small dragonfly with bluish eyes and greenish-yellow or olivaceous thorax and abdomen with black marks. In very old adults, the whole thorax and abdomen become uniform pruinosed blue. Clear wings, without apical or basal markings, and the creamy white anal appendages and deep pruinescence in adults help to distinguish this species from others in its genus.

Male: Upperside: forewing rich orange yellow, hindwing paler yellow, with the following black markings: Forewing: cell with a basal short transverse streak, a medial broad oval loop, its outer margin sinuous; a broad transverse streak beyond cell not reaching the median nervure; a broad streak along the discocellulars; a zigzag discal series of large spots, angulated outwardly in interspace 4, inwardly in interspace 2, a minute spot at base of interspace 1; a somewhat diffuse large postdiscal spot below the costa in interspace 6; a postdiscal sinuous series of round spots, those in interspaces 1 and 4 very small; an inner complete subterminal sinuous series of round spots; an outer subterminal line, widening on the veins, and a terminal slender line. Hindwing: a basal, transverse, obscure narrow mark in cell, another above it in interspace 7, a transverse lunule across the middle of the cell; a small spot outwardly bordering the lower discocellular; a discal series of transverse spots from interspaces 1 to 7, sinuous posteriorly; a postdiscal series of five spots in interspaces 2 to 6; a subterminal series of somewhat lunular spots; finally, a narrow band on term en traversed posteriorly by a series of blue, anteriorly by a series of ochraceous lunules. Underside forewing pale terracotta red, shading into ochraceous towards the apex, the apex broadly suffused with that colour; markings as on the upperside, with the following exceptions: subcostal spot in interspace 6, upper two spots of postdiscal series, upper four spots of the inner subterminal series, and the anterior portions of the outer subterminal and of the terminal line olivaceous brown; the upper two postdiscal spots centred with white, with a white spot on each side; the upper four spots of the sub terminal series connate (united), forming a short curved band. Hindwing variegated with ochraceous, olivaceous-brown and silvery-white markings, the last for the most part narrowly margined on the outer side by short black lines; the veins prominently pale ochraceous; the medial silvery markings form a well-marked sinuous discal series, followed by a curved postdiscal series of five olivaceous round spots; each spot and the olivaceous-brown quadrate patch near base of cell with a minute white central spot; a slender black subterminal line widening at the veins, as on the forewing, followed by an ochraceous narrow lunular band and an outer slender black anteciliary line; the subterminal black line margined on the inner side by a series of: slender white lunules, bordered inwardly by a series of broad olivaceous-brown markings in the interspaces. Antennae brown above, ochraceous red beneath; head, thorax and abdomen olivascent tawny; beneath, palpi, thorax and abdomen pale ochraceous. Female similar. Differs from the male as follows: Upperside: apical half of forewing from about the middle of the costa obliquely to just above the tornus black, inwardly suffused with purple, crossed by a broad white band from costa to the subterminal series of black spots; four preapical white spots, the upper three bordering on each side and above a very obscure ocellus scarcely visible on the black background, an inner and an outer subterminal transverse series of slender white lunules. Underside: forewing markings similar to those on the upperside, but the apex of the wing beyond the white oblique band ochraceous green. Hindwing as in the male, but the markings slightly broader. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male, the abdomen paler beneath. Wingspan: 80–98 mm (3.1–3.9 in). Var. taprobana, Moore, is a slightly darker race from Ceylon, with markings similar in both sexes to those of hyperbius. Moore, however, states that taprobana is an intermediate between the south Indian form (castetsi) and typical hyperbius specimens from Ceylon that do not differ from upper India, Assam, and Burmese specimens, except in the very slightly darker ground colour on the upperside. Race castetsi, Oberthur: The females of this remarkable form seem to be locally dimorphic. Male closely resembles the male of hyperbius but differs as follows: Upperside: ground colour a richer brighter shade of orange yellow; black markings similar but distinctly smaller, of a deeper black: subterminal transverse series of slender lunules traversing the terminal black margin on the hindwing of the same shade of orange yellow as the ground colour, not blue on the posterior half of the wing. Underside: the olivaceous brown at apex of forewing and variegating the hindwing more of a greenish golden tint. A sex-mark of specialized raised scales along middle of vein 1 on the upperside of the forewing very prominent. Female Nilgiri form: resembles the female of typical hyperbius differs as follows: Upperside: ground colour pale golden yellow; basal half of both forewings and hindwings shaded with metallic green in the forewing; in some specimens this tint is slightly olivaceous; black markings and the white oblique band on the apical area of the forewing as in hyperbius, but proportionately smaller, the purplish-blue shading along inner margin of the white band much less conspicuous, as is also the bluish tint; on the white preapical spots and subterminal markings on the forewing and on the posterior half of the subterminal line of limules on the hindwing. Underside as in hyperbius but the ground colour on the forewing a paler shade of terracotta red; the olivaceous brown variegating the hindwing of a distinctly greener tint. Female typical form as described from Trichinopoly. Similar to the male differs as follows: Upperside: ground colour pale golden yellow; basal half of the wings suffused with dark olivaceous green; black markings as in the male but larger; on the forewing the spots of the subterminal series very large, coalescent or nearly coalescent with one another and with the dentate spots on the veins in the inner terminal line; the upper two spots also of the postdiscal series very large and coalescent, the upper of the two joining on above and below to the inner postdiscal lunate spot in interspace 6, thus enclosing a prominent lunule of the ground colour. Underside as in the male but paler.