Dodona durga
# Dodona durga

Dodona durga, the common Punch, is a small but striking butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm (Tibet, Chitral to Nepal, West China, Central China) that belongs to the Punches and Judies, that is, the family Riodinidae.

* in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, India

## Description

From Charles Thomas Bingham (1905) The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma, Butterflies, Vol. 1

   Male Upperside vandyke-brown, spotted and marked with ochra-ceous and black as follows: Fore wing has a transverse band crossing the middle of the cell, continued to vein 1; a similar band at apex of cell continued below as a round spot in interspace 2 and a transverse spot in interspace 1; a macular similar band beyond apex of cell; three upper discal spots in interspaces 3, 6 and 8, followed by a sinuous transverse inner subterminal series of small spots and an outer subterminal series of transversely linear spots. Hind wing: a small spot in interspace 7, two spots beyond apex of cell continued towards the tornus in a series of more obscure smaller spots, and an inner and an outer transversely linear series of spots, the inner and outer spots in interspaces 5 and 6 with an intervening prominent black spot, a similar black spot also in interspace 1 and another on the lobe of the tornus. Underside has the veins on the basal halves of wings pale ochraceous white; ground-colour ochraceous brown, with pale ochraceous-white markings as follow:—Fore wing: a streak along basal half of costal margin, a patch at base of cell centred with a small triangle of the ground-colour, a broad oblique band across middle of cell continued below towards the dorsum, similar bands at apex and just beyond,apex of cell, with a spot below them near base of interspace 2, a transverse discal series of spots in interspaces 1, 3, 6 and 8; a transverse uneven postdiscal series and a subterminal transverse linear row of spots, the last extending from interspaces 1 to 5; the lower spots of the postdiscal and subterminal series bright ochraceous, with some obscure blackish spots on the inner side of the former and at the tornus. Hind wing: a narrow streak along the dorsal margin, another across interspaces 1 a and 1, with a forked similar streak along vein 1; none of these reaching the tornus; a patch at base of wing enclosing a large spot of the ground-colour; an oblique band from costa crossing the middle of the cell, an interrupted similar band crossing the apex of the cell, very slender along the disco-cellulars; two upper discal short streaks in echelon; subterminal black spots in interspaces 1 a, 1, 4 and 5, the former two bordered internally with ochraceous, the latter two encircled with while; a transverse line of white between the lower two and upper two black spots, and another short terminal similar line between vein 1 and vein 0; cilia of both wings white alternated with brown. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brown: beneath, the palpi, thorax and abdomen whitish, the palpi tipped with black.
   * Female. similar, larger; ground-colour slightly paler; markings whiter and broader.

   * Expanse: 30-42 mm

   * Habitat: The Himalayas, Kashmir to Nepal
