Choaspes benjaminii

Description

Choaspes benjaminii, the Indian awlking or common awlking, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae.The species is named after Benjamin Delessert and was described on the basis of a specimen collected by Adolphe Delessert in the Nilgiris. The Indian awlking is 50 to 60 mm long. It is distinguished by the shining green under hindwing with black veins, orange area with black spots on the tornus. The male butterfly is shining indigo blue above. It has purplish hairs at the base which turn greenish with age. Cilia of hindwing and anal lobe broadly ochreous red. The female butterfly is dark shining green with bluish-grey hairs at the base. forewing with a broad pale cupreous brown band on posterior margin; hindwing with a broad ochreous-red lobular patch with black macular upper border and broad central angular streak. Thorax greyish olive above, vertex bluish olive, abdomen brown; palpi and thorax in front and abdomen beneath, ochreous red.