Autocharis amethystina Swinhoe, [1894] -

Taxonomic Information

Autocharis Swinhoe, 1894 species known from India. 
Autocharis fessalis (Swinhoe, 1886)
Autocharis amethystina Swinhoe, [1894]

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

Autocharis amethystina -


Autocharis fessalis (Swinhoe, 1886) was described by Swinhoe without a mention of the sex of the type specimen. Autocharis amethystina Swinhoe, [1894] was described by Swinhoe with the type specimen as a male. Hampson, 1896: 415 synonymized amethystina with fessalis depicting the fessalis morphs of Swinhoe, 1886 as females. Hence, according to Hampson, 1896, amethystina is just the female of fessalis. This suggests that this species is sexually dimorphic in wing pattern. However, based on current investigation of both sexes of Autocharis fessalis and Autocharis amethystina shows no sexual dimorphism in wing pattern; hence we believe that the original treatment of treating both these species as valid taxon, holds good, contrary to treatment by Nuss et al 2023 at http://globiz.pyraloidea.org. In the Pyralids of Borneo, too, a mention is made that the two species are probably different, with fessalis being absent in Borneo. Yamanaka (1998) in the Moths of Nepal, Part 5, too treats these two taxa as separate species. See note at http://www.pyralidsofborneo.org/index.php?amethystina. Further investigation by dissections of genitalia of both sexes of both species is needed to conclude this position with certainty (Jahir Rayhan, 10 April 2023). 

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands1
Andhra Pradesh1
Arunachal Pradesh12
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa1
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka11
Kerala1
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya1
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu11
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal1
Total431113
  1. OD: Autocharis amethystina Swinhoe, 1894. New species of Geometers and Pyrales from the Khasia Hills. XXII. A.M.N.H., 14 (6): 135-149.
  2. Swinhoe, C. 1886. On the Lepidoptera of Mhow, in Central India. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1886: 421–465, pls. 40–41.
  3. Hampson, G. F. 1896. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Moths, Vol.4. Taylor & Francis, London. Pyralidae 594 p - 287 figs.Vol. 4, pg. 415, # 5184. 
  4. Haruta, T. (Ed.). 1998. Moths of Nepal. Part 5. TINEA. Vol. 15 (Supplement 1). The Japan Heterocerists’ Society, Tokyo.Pl. 141/20. 
  5. http://pyralidsofborneo.org/index.php?amethystina
  6. https://singapore.biodiversity.online/species/A-Arth-Hexa-Lepidoptera-000652
Note: These individuals were incorrectly identified as Autocharis fessalis (Swinhoe, 1886). Corrected on 21 Jan 2022 by SS, based on inputs provided by Jahir Rayhan. Hampson (1896) synomized Autocharis amethystina with Autocharis fessalis, treating individuals with a straight marginal pink band as females, and the individuals with a sinuous marginal pink band as males. Here, we follow the treatment on http://pyralidsofborneo.org/index.php?amethystina, which lists Autocharis amethystina as a separate species. 

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Autocharis amethystina Swinhoe, [1894] – . In Sondhi, S., Y. Sondhi, R.P. Singh, P. Roy and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 3.72. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.mothsofindia.org/autocharis-amethystina, accessed 2024/03/28.