Parasa darma Moore

Parasa darma Moore, in Horsfield & Moore, 1859: 414.

Parasa darma Moore; Hering, 1931: 696; Barlow, 1982: 40; Holloway, 1982 a: 185.

Diagnosis

The crescent shaped green zone of the forewing, edged finely with white posteriorly, distinguishes this species.

Taxonomic Notes

There appear to be two biological races in Borneo, one lowland and one montane, as described by Holloway (1982a). The former is larger and has a slightly broader and more uniform border to the hindwing. There are also minor genitalic differences.

Geographical Range

Burma, Sundaland, Palawan.

Habitat Preference

The lowland race has been taken in a range of forest types: kerangas, hill dipterocarp, and on limestone. The montane race was taken (5 individuals) in upper montane forest at 1800m.

Biology

There is an illustration of a larva attributed to darma in the collection of the Malaysian Department of Agriculture. It is green, with anterior and posterior dorsolaterals emphasised as in other Parasa. The dorsal surface between the three anterior dorsolaterals is pale blue and there is a much narrower transverse band of the same colour between the foremost of the posterior dorsolaterals. These two pale blue areas are linked by dorsolateral bands of the same colour. The flanges below the laterals are also delineated with pale blue. The species has been reared from Cocos in Thailand.