Luthrodes pandava (Horsfield, [1829]) - Plains Cupid

Subspecies in India

(1) Luthrodes pandava pandava (Horsfield, [1829]) – Oriental Plains Cupid

Taxonomic Information

This species was previously treated as Chilades pandava. It is now placed in Luthrodes based on a recent phylogenetic study (Nazari et al. 2023).

Conservation and Special status

This species is not legally protected in India under any schedules of WildLife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands UT121117
Andhra Pradesh211211
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam1211
Bihar1
Chandigarh1131
Chhattisgarh3911512211
Dadra & Nagar Haveli UT1
Daman & Diu UT
Delhi12211231731414
Goa11
Gujarat6143128152124
Haryana1
Himachal Pradesh1
Jammu and Kashmir UT1111
Jharkhand1
Karnataka144285325161883282316
Kerala12131231024226
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh1113221
Maharashtra44744981171113131110
Manipur1
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland1
Odisha51
Puducherry UT1
Punjab1
Rajasthan11
Sikkim1
Tamil Nadu5111
Telangana11323321
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh82451131
Uttarakhand23341243
West Bengal1211949632382211
Total31661001037752945289838567

Cycas circinalis, Cycas revoluta, Cycas spp. (Cycadaceae); Acacia nilotica, Acacia spp., Bauhinia divaricataBauhinia vahlii, Bauhinia variegata, Butea monospermaCaesalpinia spp., Desmodium dalbergioidesMoullava spicata, Saraca asoca, Xylia xylocarpa (Fabaceae); Schleichera oleosa (Sapindaceae).

Key Reference:
Nitin, R., V. C. Balakrishnan, P. V. Churi, S. Kalesh, S. Prakash, and K. Kunte. 2018. Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10:11495–11550.

For the complete list of larval host plants of Indian butterflies, see the page on larval host plants.

Nazari, V., K. Kunte, and Z. Bálint. (2023). On the identity of Hesperia parrhasius Fabricius, 1793 and its allied species (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 26:102165.

Page citation

Saji K., A. Soman, P. Churi, and A. Mitra. 2026. Luthrodes pandava (Horsfield, [1829]) – Plains Cupid. In Kunte, K., S. Sondhi, and P. Roy (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.12. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/luthrodes-pandava, accessed 2026/06/04.