ID Help for Pelopidas sp.

[gkbaliga]

Thanks for the identification of original Image posted by me Dr Seow.

Even I am interested in the question of our good friend Rajib.

Let us assume we have UP view along with UN view also.
How can we differentiate between the three species? P. mathias, P. agna, P.thrax.
Broad guidelines also sufficient now.

No. We do not have P. thrax in South India.

Synoptic Catalogue (Varshney and Smetacek) says

221. Pelopidas thrax (Huebner, [1821]) Small Branded Swift
i. Pelopidas thrax masta Evans, 1949
Sikkim to N.E. India.
ii. Pelopidas thrax thrax (Huebner, [1821])
Jammu & Kashmir to Delhi & Gujarat.

We have heard of reported presence of Pelopidas thrax masta occurence in West Bengal, but it is not confirmed by voucher copy and genitalia studies. Hence we do not have confirmation as of now. The reports are based on images. So we would like to understand pictorial id first before more evidence can be found.

[Psyche]

I think they can be ID'ed especially with fresh individuals.


Pelopidas thrax; P thrax thrax ,Mediterranean to Delhi. ssp masta Sikkim & Manipur.

1.Male brand whitish.
2 .FW upper cellspot often teardrop shape ( horizontally).
3. UnH spots distinctly margined with dark brown; some spots reduced to dark rings.
4. Underpart of body ie. head, thorax, & abdomen strongly whitish.
5. Ssp mastaUnH spots mostly dark rings except spots 4 & 5.
Greek islands.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile...2007-Right.png
http://www.pyrgus.de/Pelopidas_thrax_en.html
Turkey
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eccwOVlYqY..._2649%252B.jpg

There are pix in which the marginal areas are pale shaded much as in P. mathias from S. India, but the pix are from Africa.
Nigeria.
http://tolweb.org/Pelopidas_thrax

P. agna.
1 UpF male with spot 2 & 3 very narrow & rectangular .
2. Male brand dark.
3. UnH uniformly ochreous brown .
4. UnH spots not dark-ringed.
https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/me...Saji_ac952.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...18_09_2012.jpg
female
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...a_20140621.jpg


Pelopidas mathias.
1, Male brand dark.
2. FW spot 2 & 3 quadrate.
3. UnH greyer with pale marginal shading .
4. UnH spots not dark-ringed.


TL Seow: Cheers.

[butterflyrajib]

Respected T L Seow Sir,
Can you share some images of P. mathias where we will get clear upper wing view (male dark brand, FW spot 2,3)

Regards,
Rajib Dey

[Psyche]

I kind of forgot that P. mathias is also found in Africa since my reference book did not mention it.
In fact both P. thrax & mathias are found widely in Subsaharan Africa.
http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/arti...s%20Walker.pdf

As there is no example of P. thrax with whitish shading through out the Mediterranean & the Middle East, this means the examples with white marginal shading on the wings are mis-ID'ed P. mathias.
eg.http://tolweb.org/Pelopidas_thrax


The three species can now be separated with greater confidence.

Pelopidas thrax.
1. Upperside; FW with upper cellspot typically wide (elongate horizontally),often teardrop shape.
Male with the brand whitish.
Female with spots rather larger than in P. agna & mathias female.
2.Underside uniformly light brown.
HW spots with darker brown margins ,some of the spots reduced to dark rings/spots.
Underpart of body generally whiter thn the other species.
Males.
https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/174735.jpg
http://www.pyrgus.de/bilder1/hesperi...rax_3f2013.jpg
Females.
http://www.pyrgus.de/bilder1/hesperi...rax_8f2013.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...Swift_05-5.jpg

Subspecies masta Sikkim to Manipur.
UnH with spots 4 & 5, the rest absent or reduced to dark spots.


Pelopidas agna
1. Upperside both cellspots rounded.
Male brand dark.
Male spot 2 & 3 typically narrow & rectangular.
A line through the two cellspots usually bypass or just tip the lower end of the brand.
2. Underside uniformly brown ,often ochreous.
HW spots not margined in darker brown.
http://yutaka.it-n.jp/hes/93090001.html
Males.
https://ml.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%...ai_078_(2).jpg
http://www.butterflycircle.com/check...Horace-Tan.jpg
Females.
http://www.butterflycircle.com/check..._female_02.jpg
http://www.butterflycircle.com/check...SwiftF-KSK.jpg


Pelopidas mathias
1. Upperside FW cellspots rounded.
Male brand dark.
Male spot 2 & 3 typically quadrate but may be somewhat rectangular.
A line through the two cellspot cut the lower part of the male brand.
Female spots as in the female P. agna . A line thru the 2 cellspots is closer to the spot in space 1b than in the case of the P. agna female but not reliable.
2. Underside greyer brown ,uneven, with pale shadings in the marginal areas ,variable; HW spots may have darker margins.
http://yutaka.it-n.jp/hes/93120001.html
Males.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vu2BuAb4wk...side_03XYZ.gif
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vqr7KmROfe...perside_01.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gzu0QPtBPM...nded+Swift.jpg
Females.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f8ydI8r9_g...perside_01.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zld9bl5mdB...S_adult_01.jpg

The best identification is from the underside

P. mathias ; Un with paler whitish shadings in the marginal areas ; spots may have dark margins ;UpF male brand dark.

P. agna .UnH uniform brown, ochreous, spots without dark margins; UpF male brand dark

P. thrax; UnH uniform light brown ;spots with dark margins, some spots may be reduced to dark rings/dots; UpF male brand whitish, upper cellspot elongate .


TL Seow: Cheers.

[gkbaliga]

Greetings from South India Dr Seow

Uploading two images of the same specimen. Id help would be appreciated.
Is it Pelopidas Agna Female? Shot at our home, Mangalore. West Coast of Karnataka State today.

20190710-IMG_6052 by GKBaliga, on Flickr


20190710-IMG_6057 by GKBaliga, on Flickr

[Psyche]

Post 16.

These Pelopidas can be very tough to ID.

P. mathias is greyer on the underside & also have more uneven shadings.
http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/...ded-swift.html
In P. agna UnH is more uniform in colour.
http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/...gal-swift.html


The UnH looks uneven & is also greyer than in post 12.
UnH spot 7 is more often present in P. mathias.
https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/sp...opidas-mathias
https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/sp...Pelopidas-agna

The upF alignment of the two cellspots seem to move away from the space 1b spot suggesting P. agnabut this often variable.


Overall I think it is P. mathias but certainly not confident here.

TL Seow: Cheers.