Comparative Taxonomic Data of Seven Neptis Fabricius, 1807 Species (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Limenitidinae) from the Northwestern Himalaya

Abstract

Characters of external genitalia are considered as one of the important criteria to understand the taxonomy of insects. In the present study, various taxonomic characters of the male external genitalia of seven species under the genus Neptis Fabricius viz., sappho (Pallas, 1771), mahendra Moore, 1872,  soma Moore, 1858, clinia Moore, 1872, sankara (Kollar,[1844]), narayana Moore 1858 and nata Moore, [1858] have been described and illustrated in detail. Besides, brief diagnoses and identification keys based on external genitalia, morphological variations and taxonomic remarks have been given for all taxa.