Which Telicota?

[horace2264]

Encountered one male Telicota sunbathing under the midday sun.
Here are some upperside shots. The brand is broad but the base of space 2 in the forewing all or mostly black. Could this be Telicota linna?

[Psyche]

Yes, it is Telicota linna.

There are only 3 species in which the base of space 2 is blackened above.
namely hilda, linna & ohara, & with a centrally placed brand.
T. hilda is a highland species which can be ruled out.
T. ohara have a narrow brand.
A 4th species similar to linna is T. bambusae. Its occurance here is not proven.

A feature to remember is if the base of space 2 is orange, this is reflected by orange shading on the underside forewing in the same area; useful as these skippers often rest with half-cocked wings.

TL Seow
T. bambusae is a common species from India to China, feeding on rice sugarcane , etc. Note concave margins, & greenish hairs.
http://ifoundbutterflies.org/5-hespe...icota-bambusae
http://www.pbase.com/dancy/image/82694535

[horace2264]

Thanks, Dr Seow for the Telicota ID.

Here is one shot of the underside when the butt jumped at the flash. It does not look greenish.

[Psyche]

I must say the undersides of these two looks near identical, except perhaps T. bambusae have a lighter greenish yellow shade. Even the upperside concave margins of the spots is not always pronounced in T. bambusae as shown in the other pics on the Indian website.

TL Seow
PS. Another difference is size. T. bambusae is a smaller species & would be the size of the T. ohara male you bred.

[horace2264]

PS. Another difference is size. T. bambusae is a smaller species & would be the size of the T. ohara male you bred.

I see.
This particular Telicota specimen was considerably larger then the T. ohara male I bred.