Emperor of India / Kaiser-i-Hind (Teinopalpus imperialis)

[Trehopr1]

Here we have one of the MOST spectacular and "grand"
butterflies on the face of the planet !

This is the (female) of the Kaiser-i-Hind
(Teinopalpus imperialis) butterfly. The common name
literally means "Emperor of India".

This wonder of nature is found from Nepal and North
India on east to North Vietnam. My specimen comes
from Darjeeling India and was collected in 1938.

She remains one of my most prized acquisitions.

[wollastoni]

Let's stress that it is a Pre-CITES convention specimen, so this specimen is legal.

For our readers, you need a CITES II permit to import a fresh specimen of this species (very hard to get CITES II permits for Teinopalpus).

[daveuk]

It's a really great species. I have some old Indian specimens but not quite the quality of your specimen.