Miletus chinensis longeana, or Long's brownie,[1] [2] is a small but striking subspecies of butterfly found in India and Myanmar[3] [4] that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.
It ranges from Manipur in India to Myanmar.[3] [4]
This subspecies is reported as not being rare by William Harry Evans[3] and as rare as per Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth.[4]
A small butterfly, 30 to 38 mm in wingspan. The upper forewing in both sexes has a prominent curved white discal band; the lower spots composing it are separate and sometimes coalesced in female. The apical area of the upper forewing is darker than the basal area. The dry-season form of the butterfly is white above except for the apex and a discal brown patch of the forewing and the costa on the hindwing.[4]
The butterfly was earlier known as Gerydus longeana de Nicéville.[3] It was formerly treated as a species, but is now regarded as a subspecies of Miletus chinensis.
. W.H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 .
. Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329 . Online
. W.H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 . 211, ser no H5.4 .
. Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329 . 254 .