Psolos fuligo

Psolos fuligo, the dusky partwing or coon,[2] is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae found in India.[2] The tips of the forewings diverge outward and is a feature that is clear when they rest on vegetation.

Dusky Partwing
At Kadavoor, Kerala, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Hesperiidae
Genus:
Psolos
Species:
P. fuligo
Binomial name
Psolos fuligo
(Mabille, 1876)[1]
Synonyms

Sancus fuligo

Description
Side view

It is a small butterfly with a wingspan of 36 to 46 millimetres (1.4 to 1.8 in). Both sexes look alike, excepting that the male has a prominent brand on the under forewing. It is a plain brown butterfly on the upperside. Underneath, the butterfly is similarly coloured but paler. There are diffused greyish-purple markings on the tip of the under forewing and a series of pale spots in spaces 4 to 9. Similarly spots can be seen on the under hindwing in spaces 2 to 7 and at the end cell.[3][4]

Distribution and status

The butterfly ranges from India to Southeast Asia and the Indonesian archipelago.

India forms the western boundary of the coon with the butterfly found in the Western Ghats in peninsular India, and from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh, other states of the north-east India and into Bangladesh and southern Myanmar.[1][3] In south-east Asia, the coon flies in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, northern and southern Vietnam, Laos, Philippines, and possibly southern China.[1] In the Indonesian archipelago, the coon flies in Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Sipora, Bali, Palawan, Sulawesi and Banggai.[1]

The butterfly is common in India.[3]

Subspecies

There are three subspecies:[1]

  • P. f. fuligo - found in Thailand, peninsular Malaysia and archipelagos of Indonesia and Philippines
  • P. f. subfasciatus (Moore, [1879]) - found in India, Myanmar, Indo-China
  • P. f. fuscula (Snellen, 1878) - Sulawesi, Banggai

Natural history

The butterfly is a weak flier which prefers to stay low and frequent shady nooks or grassy patches in forested areas. Often seen perched on leaves. The characteristic identification of this butterfly is that the tips of the forewings remain spread apart even when the wings are closed.[3]

  • Egg
  • Larva
  • Showing the tips of the forewings bent outwards
  • On flower

The recorded food plants of the larva are all from the family Marantaceae:

The subfamily Aroidaea (family Araceae) has also been recorded as a food plant in west Malaysia.[7][8]

References
  1. Savela, Markku. "Psolos". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. nic.funet.fi. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  2. R.K., Varshney; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. p. 48. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
  3. Kehimkar, Isaac (2009). The Book of Indian Butterflies. Mumbai: Bombay Natural History Society. pp. 93–94. ISBN 9780195696202. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  4. W. H., Evans (1949). A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia, and Australia in the British Museum. London: British Museum (Natural History). Department of Entomology. p. 278.
  5. Kalesh, S & S K Prakash (2007). "Additions to the larval host plants of butterflies of the Western Ghats, Kerala, Southern India (Rhopalocera, Lepidoptera): Part 1". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 104 (2): 235–238.
  6. Vane-Wright & de Jong, 2003, Zool. Verh. Leiden 343: 65 in Savella, M. Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms.
  7. Chou Io (Ed.); Monographia Rhopalocerum Sinensium, 1-2 in Savella, M. Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms.
  8. Robinson, G.S., Ackery, P.R., Kitching, I.J., Beccaloni, G.W. & Hernández, L.M. (2010). "Psolos fuligo". HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 22 June 2013.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
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