Pelopidas thrax

Pelopidas thrax, the pale small-branded swift, millet skipper or white branded swift,[2] is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Greece, western and south-western Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Arabia, Africa, Kashmir (northern Pakistan) and the far east. In Greece, it is only known from Samos, Chios,[3] and Rhodes, where it is found at altitudes of sea level to 75 meters.

Pale small-branded swift
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Hesperiidae
Genus:
Pelopidas
Species:
P. thrax
Binomial name
Pelopidas thrax
(Hübner, 1821)[1]
Synonyms
  • Gegenes thrax Hübner, [1821]
  • Pelopidas midea Walker, 1870
  • Hesperia inconspicua Bertolini, 1850
  • Pamphila mohopaani Wallengren
  • Pamphilia micipsa Trimen, 1862
  • Hesperia lodra Plötz, 1879

In Greece, adults are on wing in June. In Turkey, two generations were recorded, the first from May to July, the second from late September to mid October.

The larvae are known to feed on Panicum miliaceum in northern Africa. Larvae of subspecies P. t. inconspicua have been recorded feeding on Imperata arundinacea, Ehrharta erecta, Oryza and Imperata species.

Subspecies
  • Pelopidas thrax thrax
  • Pelopidas thrax inconspicua (Bertolini, 1850) (from South Africa to Kenya)
  • Pelopidas thrax masta Evans, 1949

References
  1. Pelopidas at funet.fi
  2. "Afrotropical Butterflies: Hesperiidae - Subfamily Hesperiinae". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  3. Hull and Taylor, Mike and Mike (10 February 2013). "Combined Checklist of Lepidoptera of Chios and Lesvos". World Museum Liverpool (18).


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.