Hasora vitta explained

Hasora vitta, the plain banded awl,^{[1] [2]} is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae which is found in India and parts of Southeast Asia.^[3]

Description

The butterfly, which has a wingspan of 45 to 55 mm, is dark brown above. It resembles the common banded awl (Hasora chromus), except in the case of having a broad white band on the under hindwing which is outwardly diffused; also, its wings are more prominently glossed.^{[4] [5]}

Other differentiating characteristics are:

Male: The upper forewing has an apical spot, sometimes with another in 3. The upper forewing has no brand.^[4]

Female: The apical spot in the case of the female is larger, and there is an additional spot in 2.^[4]

Taxonomy

The butterfly has two subspecies:

• Hasora vitta vitta - South Myanmar (Dawnas), Malaya peninsula, Indonesian archipelago and Philippines.^[2]
• Hasora vitta indica - South India, Sikkim, Assam, North Myanmar, Thailand and south western China.^[2]

Range

The plain banded awl is found in India in the south (Kanara), Sikkim, Assam^[6] and eastwards to Myanmar, Thailand, western China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.^{[2] [7]}

Status

Not rare as per Evans (1932).^[7] Not common as per Wynter-Blyth (1957).^[4]

Host-plants

The caterpillars have been recorded on Derris spp., Pongamia spp., Millettia extensa, Endosamara racemosa, Millettia glabra and Spatholobus ferrugineus.^{[2] [8]}

References

Print

• Book: Evans . W.H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 .
• Book: Kunte, Krushnamegh . Butterflies of Peninsular India . India, A Lifescape . Hyderabad, India . Universities Press . 2000 . 978-8173713545 .
• Book: Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander . Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329 .

Online

• Web site: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex) . Beccaloni . George . Scoble . Malcolm . Kitching . Ian . Simonsen . Thomas . Robinson . Gaden . Pitkin . Brian . Hine . Adrian . Lyal . Chris . Natural History Museum, London . 2016-10-15 .
• Brower, Andrew V. Z., (2007). Hasora Moore 1881. Version 21 February 2007 (under construction). Page on genus Hasora in The Tree of Life Web Project http://tolweb.org/.
• Web site: Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera .

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plain_Banded_Awl_Hasora_vitta_Karnala_Wildlife_Sanctuary_Maharashtra_DSCF4375_%285%29.JPG

Notes and References

1. TOL web page on genus Hasora
2. Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera - page on genus Hasora.
3. Book: W. H., Evans. A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia, and Australia in the British Museum. William Harry Evans . British Museum (Natural History). Department of Entomology. 1949. London. 68.
4. Book: Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander . Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329 . 468 .
5. Book: Kunte, Krushnamegh . Butterflies of Peninsular India . India, A Lifescape . Hyderabad, India . Universities Press . 2000 . 978-8173713545 . 192 .
6. Book: A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. R.K.. Varshney. Smetacek. Peter. Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. 2015. 978-81-929826-4-9. New Delhi. 26. 10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164.
7. Book: Evans . W.H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 . 315, ser no I 1.13 .
8. 2018-04-10. Larval host plants of the buterfies of the Western Ghats, India. Ravikanthachari Nitin. V.C. Balakrishnan. Paresh V. Churi. S. Kalesh. Satya Prakash. Krushnamegh Kunte. Journal of Threatened Taxa. 10 . 4. 11495–11550. JoTT. 10.11609/jott.3104.10.4.11495-11550. free.