The blue pansy

Description:

Male upperside : somewhat more than half the fore wing from base velvety black, apical half dull fuliginous ; cell-area with or without two short transverse orange bars ; a blue patch above, the tornus; the outer margin of the basal black area obliquely zigzag in a line from the middle of costa to apex of vein 2, including a large discal, generally obscure ocellus, which, however, in some specimens is prominently ringed with orange-yellow. Beyond this a broad while irregularly oblique discal band followed by a short oblique preapical bar frm costa ; a small black orange-ringed ocellus beneath the bar, a subterminal continuous line of white spots in the interspaces and a terminal jet-black slender line; cilia alternately dusky black and white. Hind wing blue shaded with velvety black towards base; a postdiscal black white-centred orange and black-ringed ocellus in interspace 2, a round minutely white-centred velvety black spot (sometimes entirely absent) in interspace 5; the termen narrowly white, traversed by an inner and an outer subterminal and a terminal black line ; cilia white. Underside fore wing: basal half with three black-edged, sinuous, broad, ochraceous-orange transverse bands, followed by the pale discal baud ; ocelli, preapical short bar, subterminal and terminal markings much as on the upperside; the discal band margined inwardly by a broad black angulated line which follows the outline of the black area of the upperside. Hind wing irrorated with dusky scales and transversely crossed by subbasal and discal slender zigzag brown lines and a postdiscal dark shade, on which are placed the two ocelli as on the upperside; sub terminal and terminal faint brown lines, and a brownish short streak tipped black at the tornal angle below the lower ocellus.

Habitat:

Larval host plants are recorded from the families Acanthaceae, Annonaceae, Convolvulaceae, Labiatae, Plantaginaceae.