Kallima paralekta

Kallima paralekta is classified under the genus Kallima (oakleafs) of the tribe Kallimini, subfamily Nymphalinae in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. It is the type species of the genus Kallima. The species contains two subspecies, Kallima paralekta paralekta and Kallima paralekta tribonia. The female was described in 1850 by the entomologist John O. Westwood. The type specimens of both were recovered from Java, Indonesia. or it might be because the similarly colored and closely related orange oakleaf (Kallima inachus) found in India and throughout tropical eastern Asia was at times confused and previously considered a subspecies of Kallima paralekta. It is also sometimes known as the "Malaysian dead leaf" or "Malayan leafwing", which is also misleading since it is not found in Malaysia. However a subspecies of Kallima limborgii found in the northwest of Peninsular Malaysia, Kallima limborgii amplirufa, was once included within Kallima paralekta as Kallima paralekta amplirufa. ==Description==

The upper surfaces of the wings of the male Kallima paralekta have been described as extremely beautiful. They possess oblique bright orange bands (fascia) on the upper surfaces of their forewings, the inner borders of which terminate at the lower corner of the forewings. The areas below the orange bands and the entire upper surface of the hindwings are a brilliant deep blue to purple. The females lack the bright coloration of the males. Their upper surfaces are generally a rusty brown. They also possess broad oblique bands on their forewings, but these are white. The tips of the forewings are hooked. They exhibit extraordinary representations of the various features found in decaying leaves. Patterns like blotches, dark spots, and powdery dots resembling mildew and other fungal growth are so realistic that observers may be tricked into thinking that the butterfly itself is being attacked by actual fungi. Also on the wings are small and oval scaleless areas (hyaline spots) that look like transparent "windows" and mimic holes left by insect larvae on leaves. The tips of the forewings are pointed, while the tips of the hindwings extend into a short narrow tail, resembling leaf petioles. Running through the middle of both forewings and hindwings is a line, dark on one side and light on the other, representing the shaded and illuminated sides of a leaf midrib. From this line are fainter lines radiating forwards and resembling the secondary venation of leaves. ==Distribution==

Kallima paralekta is endemic to Indonesia. The subspecies Kallima paralekta paralekta is only found in Java, Indonesia; while the subspecies Kallima paralekta tribonia is found in Sumatra, Indonesia. ==Ecology==

The larvae feed on Strobilanthes and Pseuderanthemum species. Wallace used the butterfly as an example of natural selection in support of Wallace and Darwin's theory of evolution. ==Gallery==

File:Kallima_paralekta_paralekta_femelle_ventre.jpg|Female, underside, from Muséum de Toulouse, France File:Papillon feuille MHNT.jpg|Female, underside, also from the Muséum de Toulouse File:Indian Leaf butterfly (Kallima paralekta) 2.jpg|Male, upperside, from the Jardin des Papillons of Hunawihr, France File:Kallima paralekta (Collodi’s ‘Butterfly House’).jpg|Specimen from the Collodi Butterfly House of Tuscany, Italy ==See also==