Pelopidas mathias explained

Pelopidas mathias, the dark small-branded swift, small branded swift, lesser millet skipper or black branded swift, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found throughout much of south,^[1] southeast and East Asia, and as far as the Philippines. It is also present in tropical Africa and Arabia.^[2]

Description

In 1891, Edward Yerbury Watson described it as:

Role in agriculture

P. mathias is considered a pest to rice-growing cultures, although it is not as damaging to rice plants as Parnara guttata. Newly hatched caterpillars are especially voracious in eating young seedlings. They also use silken threads to roll up and stitch together partially eaten leaves for more efficient consumption.^[3]

Subspecies

• Pelopidas mathias mathias
• Pelopidas mathias oberthueri Evans, 1937
• Pelopidas mathias repetita (Butler, 1882) (Admiralty Island, Dampier Island, Vulcan Island)

Notes and References

1. Book: A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. R.K.. Varshney. Smetacek. Peter. Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. 2015. 978-81-929826-4-9. New Delhi. 57. 10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164.
2. Book: W. H., Evans. A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia, and Australia in the British Museum. William Harry Evans . British Museum (Natural History). Department of Entomology. 1949. London. 441.
3. Book: Heinrichs, E.A. (editor) . Biology and Management of Rice Insects . Int. Rice Res. Inst. . 1994 . 81-224-0581-9 . 441–42 .