Hasora chromus

Common Banded Awl
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Hasora
Species: H. chromus
Binomial name
Hasora chromus
(Cramer, 1782)[1]
Synonyms

Parata chromus
Goniloba chromus
Hasora alexis

Hasora chromus

Hasora chromus, commonly known as the Common Banded Awl,[2] is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae which is found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia.

Range

The Common Banded Awl is found throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia (including the Malay peninsula and the Indonesian archipelago), South China, Okinawa, Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia.[2][3]

It occurs in the plains and hills up to 7000 ft. It is found in jungle as well as open country both in areas of light and heavy rainfall.[4]

Status

Common.[4]

Description

See glossary for terms used
Hasora chromus at Ananthagiri Hills, in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh, India

Similar species

The following species of Awls (genus Hasora) look similar and can be told apart by the differences in the white discal band UNH.

Habits

In India, the Common Banded Awl is the commonest of the Awls or Coeliadinae subfamily of skippers. It has a rapid and whirring flight which is audlible at close quarters. It is less averse to sunshine than other Awls and is often found flying around bushes in bright sunshine. It can be seen visiting flowers early in the day and sometimes basks on leaves, often with its wings slightly parted. It rests with wings closed.[4]

Life cycle

Eggs: Laid singly on young shoots, or on new leaves, both above and below. The egg is pinkish white when laid, dome-shaped with a flattened-top, and with minute longintudinal ridges. These are bead-patterned and have fine transverse striations. The egg turns dirty-white as it matures.[3]
Caterpillar:The caterpillar is cyclindriform with a constricted second segment which appears as a neck with black collar. The head is lobed, rounded and yellowish-red in colour. The caterpillar is yellowish-black with brown sides which range from pale to dark-brown in colour. The markings are very variable. The caterpillar is greenish-white below tinged with yellow. Sometimes the green extends all over the body along with the dark markings. When newly born, the caterpillar eats the eggshelf, usually incompletely and scuttles off to a leaf where it hurriedly makes a cell for itself. Active when young, it becomes lethargic as it grows. The caterpillar ventures forth to feed only when the light is very low and at night.[3]
Pupa: The pupa is stout, pale-brown, with white abdomen and a prominent projection on the head between bulbous eyes.[3]

Gallery

Cited references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hasora chromus.
Wikispecies has information related to: Hasora chromus
  1. Cramer, Pap. Exot., vol. iii., pi. 284, fig. E. $ . (1782).
  2. 1 2 Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera. Page on genus Hasora.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kunte, Krushnamegh. (2000) Butterflies of Peninsular India, ser no 62, pp 191–194.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, pg 467.
  5. Watson, E. Y. (1891) Hesperiidae indicae. Vest and Co. Madras.

See also

References

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