Pelopidas mathias

Dark small-branded swift
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Pelopidas
Species:	P. mathias
Binomial name
Pelopidas mathias (Fabricius, 1798)
Synonyms
Hesperia mathias Fabricius, 1798 Baoris mathias Parnara parvimacula Rothschild, 1915 Gegenes elegans Mabille, 1877 Pamphila umbrata Butler, 1879 Hesperia octofenestrata Saalmüller, 1884 Pamphila albirostris Mabille 1887 in Grandidier, [1885-7] Hesperia chaya Moore, [1866] Hesperia julianus Latreille, [1824] Pamphila repetita Butler, 1882

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 Southeast and East Asia, and as far as the Philippines. It is also present in tropical Africa and Arabia.

Description

In Kolkata, West Bengal, India

In 1891, Edward Yerbury Watson described it as:

Male. Upperside olive brown: forewing with two small yellowish semi-transparent spots within end of cell, three before the apex, and in the male three oblique discal spots followed by a dark-bordered slender straight impressed glandular streak: hindwing with one or two very indistinct pale discal spots. Female with five discal spots in the forewing, and four or five in the hindwing. Underside paler ; markings more distinct; hindwing also with a spot at upper end of the cell. Expanse 1.6 inch.^[1](Moore)^[2]

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) (Admiraly Island, Dampier Island, Vulcan Island)

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References

1. 1.6 inches (41 mm)
2. Watson, E. Y. (1891) Hesperiidae Indicae: Descriptions of the Hesperiidae of India, Burma and Ceylon. Vest and Co. Madras.
3. Heinrichs, E.A. (editor). Biology and Management of Rice Insects. Int. Rice Res. Inst. pp. 441–42. ISBN 81-224-0581-9.