Small Branded Swift Butterfly

Description:

IDd before as Pelopidas agna (Moore, 1866), of family Hesperiidae, commonly known as the Dark Branded Swift, Little Branded Swift or Common Swift. Pelopidas agna agna (Moore, 1866) is the subspecies existing in the Philippines. The length of this spotting, not including the antennae, is about 2cm. Pale brown cilia and underside, its hindwings have curved discal series of white dots and a single dot near the base. This description was taken from a P. agna site and fits well with my spotting. However, further research using other sites, points to Pelopidas mathias mathias (Fabricius, 1798) as the correct ID. Pelopidas mathias is commonly known as 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.

Habitat:

Backyard garden, spotted on Duranta erecta, Golden Dewdrop flowers.

Notes:

(I still have difficulty IDing Pelopidas spp existing in Luzon Philippines: P. agna agna, P. mathias mathias, P. conjuncta.) Reference: http://pbh-butterflies.yolasite.com/phil... http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/macros-cl... http://www.samuibutterflies.com/insects/... http://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/330-Pel... http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/124... http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S... http://old.hkbutterfly.org/p_mathias.htm... http://www.ngensis.com/ngl/ngl-01.htm http://www.naris.go.kr/v2_en/naris_searc...