About the Common Beak
Libythea lepita, the common beak, is a butterfly that belongs to the Libytheinae group of the brush-footed butterflies family. It is found from southern India to Japan and its larval food plants include members of the Cannabaceae, particularly in the genera Celtis and Trema.
The species was earlier considered a race of Libythea celtis, the European beak. The following description is based on the older treatment and the race lepita and lepitoides described below refer to this species. Race lepita ranges from the Himalayas (Shimla and Sikkim to Assam) to Upper Myanmar, China and Japan. It differs from the European beak Libythea celtis as follows:
Upperside ground colour a slightly darker brown. Forewing: orange-yellow streak in cell much narrower for two-thirds of its length from base, then abruptly expanded anteriorly so as to fill the apex of the cell, the inner margin of the apical portion and the anterior margin of the basal portion forming a clearly defined right angle; lower discal spot absent, upper larger discal spot somewhat diamond shaped; subcostal spot and preapical spot placed obliquely outwards from it more distinctly double, the... Wikipedia →