Skipper ID Needed.

[Silverstreak]

Seow and all,

Your assistance in the ID of this skipper would be much appreciated.

# 1

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----7796---13_01_2011-copy-4.jpg


#2, I believe it is the same as #1 , the specimen was collected

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----7810---13_01_2011-copy-4.jpg

[Psyche]

Pic 1.

1. Telicota. ( Helpful feature in case of doubt- palpi 3rd segment short & stout(Telicota & Cephrenes) - that is those 2 black nubs in front of the head.)
2. Female ( no brand or stigma )
3. Postdiscal spots 4 & 5 irregular & distorted. ( T. colon male have these 2 spots irregular, & some female do too. )
4. Outer margins of postdiscal spots 2 & 3 concave. (Degree of concavity highly variable in T. colon female. )

Based on all these this should be T. colon female.

Pic 2. Not the same individual.

1. Telicota ( Costal streaks connected to the 3 subapical spots )
2. Underside hindwing yellowish brown with a greenish tinge, i.e. greenish ochreous. Only T. colon & T. besta females have this colour.
3. Postdiscal spots 4 & 5 regular, rectangular.
4. Female. ( abdominal tip appear truncated but without hair fringes.)

Based on these, pic. 2 should be T. besta female.

TL Seow:cheers:

[Silverstreak]

TL,

Many thanks !!

Noted on the final points on T. colon and T.besta.


:cheers:

[horace2264]

Sunny, pardon me for piggybacking on your thread. :)

I have these two skippers needing some work on their IDs too. Any help will be much appreciated. :)

Could the 2nd skipper be a Potanthus confuscius?

[Psyche]

With the spined legs, stout built, it is either Baoris or Pelopidas.

The disposition of the 2 cell spots is wrong for both P. assamensis 0r P. conjunctus. The upperside colouration is also wrong for the 2 large Pelopidas.

It is Baoris oceia or B. farri female. Not possible to ID without a look of the underside hindwing colour.
( Part of the underside can be seen as darkish brown- this should be B. oceia.)

Pic 2.

The postdiscal spots 4 & 5 are joined by overlaps, between spot 5 & spot 6 above it, and spot 4 to spot 3 below it.
This is a typical example of P. confucius.

TL Seow:cheers:

[horace2264]

Thanks, Seow for the speedy reply. :)

Looks like we have at least another Potanthus sp. to add to our local checklist. :thinking:

[horace2264]

Encountered another Potanthus adult (might even be the same one) which has similar post-discal band on the forewing upperside. This time I have the underside shot as well.

Seow, how do you think? Does the underside (esp. with veins crossing the post-discal patch darken or slightly darken) help to confirm or cast doubt on the ID?

[Silverstreak]

Horace and Seow ,

It looks like this skipper wants to be identified , it is the same guy shot by
Horace earlier down to the tear and missing cilia and scuff marks on the right hindwing.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/SNAG_Program-0264.jpg

To my layman's eyes what Horace shot fits very well , almost to a T.....:redbounce


:cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

Here are reference shots from the Encyclopedia of Hong Kong Butterflies , by Hong Kong Lepidopterists' Society published in Jul 2010

[Psyche]

Good thing you guys brought in another sets of pics. The trouble was I was so eager to think it was P. confucius that I didn't run it thru the key but concentrate on the overlaps between the spots.

The darkened veins above and below are very obvious. This is P. omaha.

In the key you need to clear omaha first, before you can ID P. confucius. In P. confucius, the individual spots are not seperated by the veins or only faintly so. This goes for both the forewing and hindwing bands.

I am afraid the book is wrong as well. In the book the veins across the band on the hindwing are not obvious because it is out of focus.

Thanks guys for bringing this up. In future I will be more careful with these very similar looking skippers, to at least run it tthrough the key first, instead of checking on the end description.

Sorry , guys. No P. confucius yet.

TL Seow:cheers:

[horace2264]

Thanks, Seow for the detailed explanation. :) I will leave the ID as P. omaha then.

[Silverstreak]

Spot 4&5 look detached and out of place , but the shot posted here looks more like a Lesser Dart (Potanthus omaha omaha) than a forumer's suggestion of Plain Palm Dart (Cephrenes acalle niasicus)


http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=840499

[Psyche]

Spot 4&5 look detached and out of place , but the shot posted here looks more like a Lesser Dart (Potanthus omaha omaha) than a forumer's suggestion of Plain Palm Dart (Cephrenes acalle niasicus)


http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=840499

You are right, Sunny. It is P. omaha.
To confirm it is a Potanthus, look at the front of the head for the third segment of the palpi. They are LONG, THIN, and black. In Telicota & Cephrenes these are SHORT, STOUT & black.( Compare your pic 1 with the clubsnap pic.)

To ID P. omaha, check the following.
1. Small size; may be hard to estimate.
2. Ensure there is an orange spot in space 7 on the hindwing. (the one at the margin in clubsnap pic)
3. All bands are crossed by dark veins (both sides). Focus on the hindwing as most Potanthus have darkened veins on the forewing.

The disposition of spot 4 & 5 is irrelevant as P. omaha is highly variable.

Since P. omaha is very common it is good to be familiar with it as you 'll need to dismiss it first before you can consider whether it is something else.

TL Seow:cheers:

[Silverstreak]

Seow ,

Thank you for the response and the detailed explanation!!

Will highlight to the poster ( Crystal our new member) at ClubSnap.

Cheers!

[Silverstreak]

I think this is a Borbo cinnara cinnara - -Formosan Swift. Please correct me if I am wrong!

The hindwing marking is confusing me!!


http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----8435---19_01_2011.jpg

[Psyche]

Another 'pesky brownie' .

Salient features : ochreous brown underside; hindwing spots in space 2, 3, 4, & 5. Note spots 4 & 5 appear to be in one space, but there is an ill-defined vein 5 dividing them .( Many skippers have vein 5 weak or absent.)

The four contenders are;

Borbo cinnara. : eliminated; its underside have a greenish overlay; hindwing spots usually in space 2, 3, & 6.

Pelopidas mathias : eliminated; its underside is overlaid with grey;hindwing usually with a cell spot.

Pelopidas agna : a possibility, but hindwing usually with a cell spot.

Polytremis lubricans : Contiguous Swift ; a match as far as the underside hindwing goes ; forewing 2 cell spots need not join ; note only the upper cell spot visible here.

Most likely ID : Contiguous Swift.

TL Seow:cheers: