Gray Pansy or Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites)

Gray Pansy or Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites)

Photo from Bishhazari taal, Chitwan, Nepal

Gray Pansy or Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites)

Fact sheet

Systematic position

Kingdom:  Animalia

Phylum:  Arthopoda

Subphylum:  Invetebrata

Class: Insecta

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Nymphalidae

Genus: Junonia

Species: J.atlites

Binomial name: Junonia atlites  (Linnaeus, 1763)

Elevation: 400-4900 ft

Entire length: 33 cm

Wing Span: 50-60 cm

Season

January to December

Habitat:

Open country, often near water.

This species also varies with the season but not so marked.

The dry season underside is plain and the wet season form has small of ocelli.

Feature:

• Upperside of both sexes pale lavender-brown, apical half of wings paler. Fore wing: cell with, three transverse, short, sinuous black bands, the outermost defining the discocellulars; a similar short, somewhat broader band beyond apex of cell; two transverse discal dusky black fasciae, the inner highly sinuous and outward, angulate above vein 4, the outer straighter, somewhat lunular, bordered by a series of whitish ovals with dusky or black centres.

• Underside lilacine white markings as on the upperside but very delicate, slender and somewhat obsolescent. In the dry-season forms of the males the rows of oval ocelli are only indicated by the yellow-centred ovals. The most prominent marking is the inner discal fascia crossing the wings; this is much less sinuous than on the upperside and not angulated on the fore wing.