Pithecops mariae

Pithecops mariae is a small butterfly found in Sumatra that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. It was first described by British Entomologist Lionel de Nicéville in 1894.^[1]

Pithecops mariae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Pithecops
Species:	P. mariae
Binomial name
Pithecops mariae de Nicéville, 1894
Synonyms
Petrelaea mariae De Nicéville, 1894 Pithecops fulgens mariae De Nicéville, 1894

Habitat

Pithecops mariae is known from northeastern Sumatra, Indonesia, which is recorded as its type locality.^[2] Some lepidopteran catalogues also list Borneo among the species’ possible range, although these records may reflect earlier taxonomic treatments or unverified observations.^[3]

The species is presumed to inhabit lowland tropical rainforest environments and forest margins typical of Sumatra’s humid ecosystems.^[2] However, no detailed ecological studies have been published, and its precise altitudinal range, population density, and larval host plants remain undocumented.^[4]