Life history and morphology of the black cupid butterfly, Tongeia kala (de Nicéville)(Lycaenidae), from Myanmar

Abstract

A rare lycaenid butterfly, Tongeia kala, is distributed from NE India to eastern Myanmar. In appearance there are no closely related species in the genus, and therefore it is of much interest to study this species from an evolutionary point of view. In order to extract phylogenetic information of T. kala, the immature stages and biology were studied in a high mountain area of Chin State, Myanmar. We describe egg, larval, pupal stages, adult wing pattern and male genitalia of the species, and compare with its related species. We also record Sedum multicaule, as its hostplant.