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 parts of 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.
The ground colour of the fore and hind wings is brown. The upper side has a series of white spots of different sizes. Males have a narrow white scent scale patch on the upper surface of the forewings . The translucent spots are arranged differently from Gegenes nostrodamus and Gegenes pumilio .
The egg is yellowish at first and later becomes salmon-colored. It is flattened, approximately 0.9mm high and 1.5mm in diameter. The surface is covered with about 60 very fine elongated ribs, which take up about two-thirds of the height (calculated from the base). They intersect with horizontal lines. The larvae hatch after eight days.
The caterpillar is up to 35 mm long (L6 stage). The body is light green with a darker backline. The secondary back lines and the lateral lines are lighter than the basic colour. The head is light brown, often with a dark brown line around the head. Six larval stages are formed.
The pupa is approximately 32mm long, relatively slender with a 3mm long appendage on the head pointing slightly up or down. It is yellowish white with a slightly lighter subdorsal line. The proboscis sheath extends a segment beyond the wing sheaths.
Biologyedit
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.
pelopidas, thrax, pale, small, branded, swift, millet, skipper, white, branded, swift, butterfly, belonging, family, hesperiidae, found, greece, western, south, western, turkey, israel, lebanon, syria, iraq, arabia, africa, kashmir, northern, pakistan, parts, . 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 parts of 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 swiftScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ArthropodaClass InsectaOrder LepidopteraFamily HesperiidaeGenus PelopidasSpecies P thraxBinomial namePelopidas thrax Hubner 1821 1 SynonymsGegenes thrax Hubner 1821 Pelopidas midea Walker 1870 Hesperia inconspicua Bertolini 1850 Pamphila mohopaani Wallengren Pamphilia micipsa Trimen 1862 Hesperia lodra Plotz 1879 Contents 1 Description 2 Biology 3 Subspecies 4 References 5 External linksDescription editThe ground colour of the fore and hind wings is brown The upper side has a series of white spots of different sizes Males have a narrow white scent scale patch on the upper surface of the forewings The translucent spots are arranged differently from Gegenes nostrodamus and Gegenes pumilio The egg is yellowish at first and later becomes salmon colored It is flattened approximately 0 9mm high and 1 5mm in diameter The surface is covered with about 60 very fine elongated ribs which take up about two thirds of the height calculated from the base They intersect with horizontal lines The larvae hatch after eight days The caterpillar is up to 35 mm long L6 stage The body is light green with a darker backline The secondary back lines and the lateral lines are lighter than the basic colour The head is light brown often with a dark brown line around the head Six larval stages are formed The pupa is approximately 32mm long relatively slender with a 3mm long appendage on the head pointing slightly up or down It is yellowish white with a slightly lighter subdorsal line The proboscis sheath extends a segment beyond the wing sheaths Biology editIn 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 editPelopidas thrax thrax Pelopidas thrax inconspicua Bertolini 1850 from South Africa to Kenya Pelopidas thrax masta Evans 1949References edit Pelopidas at funet fi Afrotropical Butterflies Hesperiidae Subfamily Hesperiinae Archived from the original on 2013 10 29 Retrieved 2012 11 06 Hull and Taylor Mike and Mike 10 February 2013 Combined Checklist of Lepidoptera of Chios and Lesvos World Museum Liverpool 18 External links edit nbsp Media related to Pelopidas thrax at Wikimedia Commons nbsp Data related to Pelopidas thrax at Wikispecies nbsp This Hesperiinae related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pelopidas thrax amp oldid 1154337430, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
