Teinopalpus imperialis Hope, 1843 - Kaiser-i-Hind

Subspecies in India

(1) Teinopalpus imperialis imperialis Hope, 1843 – Himalayan Kaiser-i-Hind
 

Conservation and Special status

  The species is legally protected in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022. It was earlier listed under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

This species occurs in the Indian Region in C and E Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and N. Myanmar, extending further east into S. China and Indo-China in several subspecific forms.
 

  The species is legally protected in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022. It was earlier listed under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

It is the State Butterfly of Arunachal Pradesh.

This species is overall very rare but it may be locally and seasonally uncommon. It occurs in evergreen forests at mid-elevations in the Himalaya and Patkai Hills. It has been reported and photographed in the Indian Region only a few times in the past few years, and the images taken by Reddy Bei, Range Forest Officer at Talle Valley WLS, published here on 28 August 2014 (media codes BOI-av030, BOI-av031, and BOI-av032) appear to be the first photographic record of the species from Arunachal Pradesh.

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands UT
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh14
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli UT
Daman & Diu UT
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir UT
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur1
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Puducherry UT
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal1
Total115

Magnolia campbellii (Magnoliaceae). Daphne nipalensis (Thymelaeaceae) has also been recorded.

Page citation

Kunte, K. 2024. Teinopalpus imperialis Hope, 1843 – Kaiser-i-Hind. In Kunte, K., S. Sondhi, and P. Roy (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.12. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/teinopalpus-imperialis, accessed 2024/03/28.