The Angled Sunbeam is a small Asian butterfly with a plain, shiny silvery-white underside. It lives across South and East Asia, including India, China, Taiwan, and Japan, and strays to Korea only occasionally. It is not found in the United States.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Wingspan about 1.4–2 in (3.5–5 cm). Males are orange-red above with broad dark borders; females have white or pale bluish patches instead. Both sexes are plain silvery white underneath. Autumn adults have sharply pointed forewing tips.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- forest edges
- foothills
- Range
- Found across South and East Asia, including southern India, the Himalayan foothills, China, Taiwan, and Japan, and possibly northern Myanmar and Indochina. It reaches Korea only as a rare stray. It does not occur in North America.
Behavior
- Diet
- Adults rarely visit flowers. They feed on fallen fruit, aphid honeydew, droppings, and damp ground.
- Senses
- The shiny underside reflects sunlight, which is thought to help with signaling, camouflage, and keeping cool.
- Overwintering
- Adults survive the winter, tucked under evergreen leaves in Japan.
Life cycle
- Caterpillar food plants
- Caterpillars eat the flowers and buds of legumes such as kudzu and wisteria.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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