Three Awls

[Commander]

The genus Hasora in the family Hesperiidae comprise a group of medium-sized fast-flying butterflies. They usually stop with wings folded closed and has a habit of returning to a same perch repeatedly.

When I was at Fraser's Hill some years ago, I observed two species - H. taminatus and H. chromus, returning again and again to the same spot on the damp walls of the bungalow that I was staying at.

This morning at TBHP, we observed a similar behaviour in H. vitta. Whilst the key in C&P4 indicates how to separate them, it may not be easy to distinguish amongst the 3 species which have white banded hindwings.

Here are shots of the 3 species, H. chromus (pardon the poor quality of the shot, as this was scanned from a slide with an el cheapo scanner) taken some time in 2001 at West Coast Park, followed by H. taminatus, shot at USR recently, and H. vitta, shot this morning at TBHP.

[Common Rose]

Guys, see this thread in CS. Hasora quadripunctata gnaeus?

[Commander]

Somehow, that white spot is quite variable - if that has led you to conclude that it's H. quadripunctata, so I've always wondered if the key in C&P4 on the size of the spot is reliable, or are there any other characteristics that can distinguish the two. From the specimens that I have observed in Singapore, the white spot is quite variable and range from very small to as large as the one shown in CS.

The three translucent spots on the forewing tip indicates that the specimen shot is a female. In the males, these spots are absent.

[Common Rose]

your id is H. badra?

In C&P4, in female H. badra, there are three small subapical spots. In female H. Quadripunctata, not more than one subapical spot. But then the cell spot is quite large.

[Commander]

your id is H. badra?

In C&P4, in female H. badra, there are three small subapical spots. In female H. Quadripunctata, not more than one subapical spot. But then the cell spot is quite large.

Yup. The cell spot size seems to be unreliable as a key identifier between the two species.