Pelopidas thrax

Pale Small-branded Swift
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Pelopidas
Species:	P. thrax
Binomial name
Pelopidas thrax (Hübner, 1821)[1]
Synonyms
Gegenes thrax Hübner, [1821] Pelopidas midea Walker, 1870 Hesperia inconspicua Bertolini, 1850 Pamphila mohopaani Wallengren Pamphilia micipsa Trimen, 1862 Hesperia lodra Plötz, 1879

Pelopidas thrax, commonly known as 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 (N Pakistan) and the far east. In Greece, it is only known from Samos and Rhodos, where it is found on heights of 0 to 75 meters.

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.

The larvae are known to feed on Panicum miliaceum in northern Africa. Larvae of ssp. inconspicua have been recorded feeding on Imperata arundinacea, Ehrharta erecta, Oryza and Imperata species.

Subspecies

• Pelopidas thrax thrax
• Pelopidas thrax inconspicua (Bertolini, 1850) (from South Africa to Kenya)
• Pelopidas thrax masta Evans, 1949

References

1. Pelopidas at funet.fi
2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Hesperiidae - Subfamily Hesperiinae

External links

• European Butterflies and Moths