Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2024 | 16(8): 25675–25688

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8761.16.8.25675-25688

#8761 | Received 03 October 2023 | Final received 23 May 2024 | Finally accepted 11 July 2024

 

 

An updated checklist of the skippers (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) of Bhutan

 

Karma Wangdi 1         , Piet van der Poel 2          & K.C. Sajan 3

 

1 Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Forest Research and Training, Lamaigoempa, Bumthang, Bhutan.

2 Without fixed abode, from Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands.

3 Eastern New Mexico University,  Station 33, 1500 S Ave K, Portales, New Mexico 88130, USA.

1 kwangdi@uwice.gov.bt, 2 pipoel@yahoo.com (corresponding author), 3 sajankc143@gmail.com

 

                        

Editor: Jatishwor Singh Irungbam, Centrum ALGATECH, Třeboň, Česká Republika.                Date of publication: 26 August 2024 (online & print)

 

Citation: Wangdi, K., P. van der Poel & K.C. Sajan (2024). An updated checklist of the skippers (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) of Bhutan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 16(8): 25675–25688. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8761.16.8.25675-25688

  

Copyright: © Wangdi et al. 2024. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Langur Eco Travels, Thimphu, Bhutan <www.bhutanbirdingtours.com>.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Author details: Karma Wangdi is forest ranger and trainer at the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Forest Research and Training in Bumthang Dzongkhag, Bhutan. He conducts butterfly and biodiversity surveys and training for the Institute. Piet van der Poel worked for eight years in Bhutan on nature conservation, participatory rural appraisals, river basin management, farming systems and eco-tourism. He has studied Himalayan butterflies since 2001, when he was working as advisor for the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary in Trashiyangtse, east Bhutan. Sajan K.C. is a biologist specialising in butterfly ecology and systematics. Holding an MS degree in Biology from Eastern New Mexico University (2023), USA, K.C. studies butterflies from around the world, shedding light on their evolution, behaviour and conservation.

 

Author contributions: Karma initiated the checklist project and provided all information on records from Bhutan for the species concerned. Piet carried out the literature research for these species, did a first check of the identifications, wrote the text and prepared the table. Sajan checked the identifications, commented on the text, edited some parts and wrote the abstract and conclusions.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank all people who contributed to establishing this checklist by providing information or participating in discussions on the identification of some difficult-to-identify species: Paul van Gasse, Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi, Hao Huang, Isaac Kehimkar, Motoki Saito, Peter Smetacek, and Tshuthrim Drukpa Wangyel.

 

Abstract: The authors conducted a comprehensive review of Hesperiidae species in Bhutan, scrutinizing three existing checklists and 25 new records presented by Van der Poel et al. (2023). A thorough examination of all available documents and evidence confirmed 145 Hesperiidae species in Bhutan, with four additional species listed as tentative and one as “cf.” (requiring further research). The updated checklist excludes 14 species that were listed in one or more of the three existing checklists and provides justifications for not including these species. Additionally, 11 unverifiable or wrongly identified species presented by non-peer-reviewed sources were not included in the checklist. Sixteen species with no verifiable records in the last 70 years were also identified. This review provides a comprehensive and authoritative checklist of Hesperiidae species in Bhutan.

 

Keywords: Butterflies, Himalaya, insect fauna, Papilionoidea, review, Rhopalocera, species.

 

 

Introduction

 

Butterflies of Bhutan did not receive much attention until the beginning of this century. Evans (1932) noted that lists of butterfly species for Nepal, Garhwal, and Bhutan would be interesting. Evans (1949) documented 43 species collected in Bhutan, with specimens held in the British Museum. Yazaki & Kanmuri (1985) reported on butterflies of western Bhutan and presented a list of 265 butterfly species for the whole country; the list included 25 Hesperiidae. Harada (1987a,b) listed 124 species with pictures, including six Hesperiidae, for western Bhutan, based on specimens collected in April–May of 1983. Van der Poel & Wangchuk (2007) published the first guidebook featuring pictures of 136 butterfly species of Bhutan, including eight Hesperiidae. Several other survey reports, guidebooks, and local checklists were published between 2012 and 2014, mostly relying on photographic evidence, although the pictures were often not included in the documents. Wangdi et al. (2012) reported 70 butterfly species, including 16 Hesperiidae, from Trashiyangtse, based on voucher specimens collected in 2011 during a joint Bhutanese-Japanese survey in northeastern Bhutan. Wangdi & Sherub (2014) published a guidebook on the Hesperiidae of Bhutan, listing and illustrating 92 species.

In 2012, Yazaki published a 268-page book on the butterflies of Bhutan in Japanese, which included 26 Hesperiidae but the authors were unable to consult the document as it was only distributed in Japan. Around 2013, Van Gasse posted an online PDF document on the butterflies of the Indian subcontinent. His Bhutan listings were primarily based on original descriptions, Evans (1932, 1949), and subsequent publications. An updated version of his annotated checklist of butterflies of the Indian subcontinent was published online five years later (Van Gasse 2018). It is presumed that Van Gasse (2018) considered species reported in recent documents as valid records if they were likely to occur in Bhutan. The first checklist of butterflies of Bhutan was compiled by Singh & Chib (2015), who listed 670 species based on all available documents on Bhutanese butterflies, generally assuming the correctness of species identifications in these documents but omitting some unlikely or misidentified species. In contrast, Sbordoni et al. (2015) reported 533 species, primarily relying on photographs with verified identifications. The main disparity between these lists was the number of Hesperiidae species: 73 in Sbordoni et al. (2015) versus 139 in Singh & Chib (2015).

Since 2015, local butterfly photographers and surveyors have added species to the known hesperiid fauna of Bhutan. We considered some of their identifications as doubtful if the pictures did not show the necessary distinguishing characteristics. Van der Poel et al. (2023) reviewed the evidence for these reported species; they checked published documents, grey literature, their own pictures, and pictures sent to them or found posted on the internet. For first records of a species and confirmation of a tentative species, they accepted records whose identifications they were 98–100% certain of. For recent records of species already reliably reported from Bhutan, they accepted records whose identifications they were 90% or more certain of. They officially reported 25 first records of Hesperiidae for Bhutan. This included species reported before in grey literature and on the internet, which are generally considered as not “officially” published. This also included species that were reported before, based on wrong or doubtful identifications, for which they found clear evidence. Furthermore, Van der Poel et al. (2023) provided pictorial evidence of another 25 species that were not reported with verifiable evidence in the last 70 years.

Some records from “Bhutan” in old documents from the time of the British Empire were reported from areas that are not within the present-day boundaries of Bhutan. For example:

 Celaenorrhinus flavocincta was described by De Nicéville (1887) based on three specimens from the collections of Messrs. Knyvett and Möller, all obtained near “Buxa, Bhutan”. However, Buxa is now located in Alipurduar District of West Bengal, India. Evans (1949) reported Celaenorrhinus flavocincta from “Bhutan”, without specifying “Buxa”. Subsequently, Singh & Chib (2015) and Van Gasse (2018) included the species in their checklists for Bhutan.

Celaenorrhinus plagifera was listed by De Nicéville (1889) with habitat: Sikkim, Bhutan. However, from the rest of the text of De Nicéville (1889), it appears that the Bhutan specimens came from the collection of Mr. Knyvett, known to have mainly collected near “Buxa Bhutan”.

The Treaty of Sinchula in 1865 determined more or less the location of the present boundary between Bhutan and India. Many authors in the late 19th and early 20th century continued to refer to the area around Buxa in Alipurduar District of West Bengal as “Buxa, Bhutan”. Some publications indicated as collection area “British Bhutan”, which referred to the Kalimpong area of West Bengal, India.

 

 

Methods

 

The authors first prepared a preliminary list of the Hesperiidae of Bhutan based on the checklists of Sbordoni et al. (2015), Singh & Chib (2015), and Van Gasse (2018). Singh & Chib (2015) listed the source documents for each species on which its listing was based. Other potential species were added to the preliminary list based on photographic evidence reported for Bhutan in recent documents, pictures posted on the internet, such as the Bhutan Biodiversity Portal (BBP) website, and pictures taken by or sent to the authors.

Species that were reported for Bhutan by Evans (1949) or Kehimkar (2008) were generally accepted as correct records. Evan’s records for Bhutan were based on specimens in the British Museum (Natural History Museum, London). Isaac Kehimkar (pers. comm. 2023) reported that his 2008 listings for Bhutan were generally based on Evans (1932, 1949) or old documents in the library of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). Thus, these species, which were based on old reports, were included in our checklist, unless the area from which the specimens were collected is certainly or most likely outside the present-day boundaries of Bhutan, e.g., in Buxa. Recent records for these species were accepted if the authors were at least 90% certain of their identification. This percentage is an estimate by the authors and is based on how well the characteristics of the photographed individual fit the characteristics of the species. It is especially useful for similar species with overlapping characteristics, such as Potanthus species. Websites such as observation.org give for automatically identified butterfly photographs the percentage chance that it is a particular species.

For all hesperiid species reported after 1949, the authors sought verifiable evidence in the form of pictures showing distinguishing characteristics of the species. Some of the species listed in the three checklists were based on only one or two source documents. Many source documents presented species without verifiable evidence. We considered some of the presented pictorial evidence insufficient for correct identification, e.g., when only the upperside or underside were shown and both sides were needed for identification. Several source documents listed misidentified species as the accompanying pictures were of different species. Thus, there was no guarantee that even species listed in all three checklists were reliably reported from Bhutan. Therefore, we checked for each species the reported sources to find the first record with correctly identified pictures or specimens for Bhutan. We also checked for the first correctly identified recent (since 2000) record. The pictorial evidence was verified by checking the identification with butterfly guidebooks, websites for SE Asia, original descriptions, and available recent literature. The consulted guidebooks included Evans (1949), Smith (1994, 2006, 2011, 2015), Kehimkar (2008, 2016), and Smetacek (2017). The websites included yutaka.it-n.jp, iNaturalist.org, and ifoundbutterflies.org. The authors discussed the identification of a number of individuals with several lepidopterists and naturalists. The consulted recent literature is mentioned in this document under the concerned species.

Species for which no verifiable evidence could be found and species for which the listing in the three checklists was entirely based on misidentifications in the source documents were not included in our Hesperiidae checklist for Bhutan. The reasons for not including these species are given later in this article for each of the species. Possible first records of species for which we considered the identification most probably (90-98% chance) correct were listed as tentative. This included species for which no study of the genitalia or DNA analysis was carried out, while this is required for confirmation of the identification. The authors assigned “cf.” to records of individuals that differ from a known species and could potentially be a new species for Bhutan or a new form, subspecies, or species new to science. Tentative and “cf.” species were listed, but not counted as species present in Bhutan. The updated checklist is arranged according to Zhang et al. (2023) for Hesperiinae and follows the same principles for other subfamilies. For the placement of Apostictopterus fuliginosus Leech, [1893] we followed Zhu et al. (2023).

 

 

RESULTS

 

1. Checklist of Hesperiidae of Bhutan (Table 1.): The updated checklist of the Hesperiidae of Bhutan lists 145 species and four tentative species. Tentative species are likely to occur in Bhutan, but the evidence presented until now was considered insufficient (i.e., the identification was considered to be 90–98% certain). One possible species, which requires additional research, is listed as “Pedesta cf. gupta”, and is also not counted as a species of Bhutan. The updated checklist comprises more hesperiid species than the earlier lists (73 in Sbordoni et al. (2015), 139 in Singh & Chib (2015), and 142 in Van Gasse (2018)). Verification of the species’ identification was given much more importance by the authors than in the three checklists cited above.

In addition, the checklist gives the first record from Bhutan, that the authors could find, for each species and the first recent record in this century. It also reports if species were first recorded or confirmed by Yazaki & Kanmuri (1985) or Harada (1987a). This allows any researcher, who may doubt the validity of a particular record, to check the reliability of the evidence presented for the species in the checklist.

To make it clear to other researchers which species were considered but not included in our checklist, we present these species in two lists. We also give reasons why these species were not included:

- Eleven species that were not listed in the three checklists but were reported in grey literature or online based on wrong or doubtful (less than 90% certain) identifications;

- Fourteen species that were listed in at least one of the three checklists but of which the identifications in the source documents were wrong or doubtful.

 

2. Species that were reported from Bhutan: In general publications, non-published reports, or on the internet, but were not included in any of the three mentioned checklists. We consider their identifications to be wrong or doubtful, or could not find any pictorial evidence. These include (with re-identification, using guidebooks and websites indicated in the methodology):

Abaratha alida (de Nicéville, 1891) Alida Angle (no pictorial evidence);

Celaenorrhinus patula de Nicéville, 1889 Large Spotted Flat (picture was C. putra);

Celaenorrhinus pero de Nicéville, 1889 Mussoorie Spotted Flat (picture was C. putra);

Celaenorrhinus sumitra (Moore, [1866]) Moore’s Spotted Flat (de Nicéville (1889) reported it from “Rikisum, British Bhutan”, which is now in Kalimpong, West Bengal);

Pedesta (Thoressa) baileyi (South, 1914) reported on the Bhutan Biodiversity Portal (BBP) website. The picture was of P. pandita. The undersides of these two species can be quite similar. Fig. S1-32 of “P. baileyi” upperside in Li et al. (2019) was also of P. pandita;

Satarupa gopala Moore, [1866] Large White Flat (picture was of S. zulla);

Potanthus tibetana Huang, 2002 (picture ID uncertain, possibly P. nesta or P. mara. It has several characteristics different from the description of P. tibetana in Huang (2002);

Idmon distanti (Shepard, 1937) Spotless Bob (picture was of Baoris spp.);

Baoris pagana (de Nicéville, 1887) Figure of Eight Swift (picture was Caltoris sp.);

Caltoris cormasa (Hewitson, 1876) Full-stop Swift (no pictorial evidence);

Caltoris plebeia (de Nicéville, 1887) Tufted Swift (no pictorial evidence).

 

3. Species listed in the previous checklists, but not in the new Hesperiidae checklist of Bhutan: These species were listed in one or more of the three reviewed checklists. For these species, we judged the identifications to be certainly wrong or doubtful. We called an identification doubtful if we considered the chance that the original identification was correct between 0 and 89%.

 

Subfamily Tagiadinae, Tribe Celaenorrhini

Celaenorrhinus aurivittata (Moore, [1879]) Dark Yellow-banded Flat was reported for Bhutan by Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.39) as C. aurivittatus [sic] from Punakha Dzongkhag. Based on Wangdi & Sherub (2014), C. aurivittata was listed in the checklists of Singh & Chib (2015) and Van Gasse (2018), but Shing & Chib (2014) also listed C. aurivittatus. Van der Poel et al. (2023) re-identified the picture of Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.39) as C. dhanada affinis and indicated that affinis and dhanada are probably separate species, as their distribution areas overlap in Chiang Mai, Thailand (yutaka.it-n.jp website). These two “species” are probably also sympatric in Bhutan, where both have been reported from adjoining valleys in Mongar Dzongkhag.

 

Celaenorrhinus flavocincta (de Nicéville, 1887) Bhutan Flat was listed for Bhutan by Singh & Chib (2015) and Van Gasse (2018), because “Bhutan” was the type locality of the species or because it was mentioned by Evans (1949). De Nicéville (1887) described it from specimens obtained near Buxa, Bhutan, which is now in Alipurduar District of West Bengal. Thus, these specimens were most likely not collected from within Bhutan’s present-day boundaries. Consequently, it was not included in our Hesperiidae checklist of Bhutan. It probably should be renamed “Buxa Flat”, especially since even at the time of its description by De Nicéville (1887), Buxa was already part of British India.

 

Tribe Tagiadini

Capila lidderdali (Elwes, 1888) Lidderdale’s Dawnfly. Elwes (1888) described it as “Chaeticneme? lidderdali”. He inspected a single specimen in the British Museum of which he stated: “and though it may possibly have come from Buxa, is more probably a Sikkim insect”. Elwes & Edwards (1897) indicated that it came from the collection of Dr. Lidderdale, who collected near Buxa and Darjeeling”. Thus, with Buxa now being in West Bengal, it was not described from present-day Bhutan. Although Evans (1932) indicated only Bhutan as the collection area, in Evans (1949) this was changed to Sikkim or Bhutan, more in line with Elwes & Edwards (1897), although Darjeeling is not in Sikkim. Thus, the species was not included.

 

Coladenia hoenei Evans, 1939 was reported for Bhutan by Harada (1987a). It is now considered to be Coladenia pinsbukana (Shimonoya & Murayama, 1976). The two species are very similar. Huang (2021) stated that C. hoenei is restricted to the Chinese provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Henan, and he reports C. pinsbukana occidentalis from Yunnan, Laos, Thailand, and Sikkim (India). Hence, C. hoenei was not included in our Hesperiidae checklist of Bhutan. For more detail on this rather confusing name change, see Van der Poel et al. (2023).

 

Seseria dohertyi (Watson, 1893) Himalayan White Flat was reported for Bhutan by Singh & Chib (2015) referring to Singh (2012) and Wangdi & Sherub (2014). Seseria dohertyi was also reported by Van Gasse (2018), very probably based on the same two reports. However, the picture in Singh (2012, image 52) is of Gerosis phisara and the picture in Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.43) is of Seseria sambara, as it has a narrow spot in space 1b of the upper forewing which is notched outwardly; also, the white part of the upper hindwing and abdomen is sullied and not clear in the wet season form (Evans, 1949). Thus, S. dohertyi was not included in our checklist of Hesperiidae species of Bhutan.

 

Subfamily Heteropterinae

Carterocephalus silvicola (Meigen, 1829) Chequered Skipper was reported for Bhutan by Wangdi & Sherub (2014) from Thimphu, Paro, and Haa Dzongkhags and listed for western Bhutan by Van Gasse (2018), most probably based on Wangdi & Sherub (2014). The picture in Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.79) was re-identified as C. avanti (de Nicéville, 1886). As there are no other reports of C. silvicola, it was not included in our checklist of Hesperiidae of Bhutan.

 

Subfamily Hesperiinae, Tribe Taractrocerini

Potanthus Scudder, 1872 spp. Many Potanthus species are very hard to identify and often analysis of the genitalia is the main way to identify them with certainty. The authors have accepted the five Potanthus species listed by Evans (1949) as correct. The other five species, listed by Singh & Chib (2015) and mostly also by Van Gasse (2018), have been scrutinized. Potanthus dara and P. juno were not included in our checklist and is explained later. Van der Poel et al. (2023) reported P. pseudomaesa as a species for Bhutan, P. ganga as a tentative species, and confirmed P. trachala as a species present in Bhutan. Thus, we have included seven Potanthus species in our checklist and one tentative Potanthus species.

 

Potanthus juno (Evans, 1932) Burmese Dart. Potanthus juno was listed by Van Gasse (2018) from Tsirang. Yazaki & Kanmuri (1986), A. Singh (2012), J. I. Singh (2014), and Singh & Chib (2014, 2016) reported on butterflies of Tsirang, but P. juno was not listed by any of them. Thus, the source of the listing by Van Gasse (2018) is not clear. The authors asked him about the source but did not receive a reply. Since there is no proof of the occurrence of P. juno in Bhutan, it was not included in our checklist, although it was reported as occurring in Assam by Varshney & Smetacek (2015).

 

Potanthus dara (Kollar, [1844]) Himalayan Dart was listed without a picture in Sbordoni et al. (2015) and in Singh & Chib (2015), the latter based it on the following three publications;

- Singh (2014), only listed the name, but did not present a picture;

- Nidup (2015), also only listed the name, P. dara;

- Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.58) presented pictures 1 and 2. These do not show the conspicuous spot in space 6 of the hindwing of P. dara, while also the forewing spots in spaces 4 and 5 are not separate from the spots in 3 and 6; thus, these are congeners. Most likely, image 1 is P. mara, but it could also be P. nesta, and image 2 may be P. pseudomaesa.

Another picture reported to be of P. dara, possibly the picture on which the listing in Sbordoni et al. (2015) was based, also was not P. dara, since it had a conspicuous upper hindwing spot in space 7 rather than in 6. It was a typical example of P. trachala (see Van der Poel et al. 2023). Moreover, the authors are not aware of any reliable report confirming the presence of P. dara east of Central Nepal. Potanthus dara may well have been listed for Bhutan in other publications and on the internet, but the authors think that it is highly unlikely to occur in Bhutan. Hence, P. dara is not included in our Hesperiidae checklist.

 

Tribe Erionotini

Erionota thrax (Linnaeus, 1767), Palm Redeye, was listed for Bhutan by Singh & Chib (2015), apparently only based on Wangdi & Sherub (2014). However, we determined that the picture in Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.69) was of E. torus, since the upper forewing termen and apex were rounded. It was not listed for Bhutan by Van Gasse (2018), who probably also realised that the picture was of E. torus. Consequently, E. thrax was not included in our checklist of Hesperiidae of Bhutan.

 

Matapa purpurascens Elwes & Edwards, 1897, Purple Redeye, was reported for Bhutan by Wangdi & Sherub (2014) from Zhemgang Dzongkhags and listed for Bhutan by Van Gasse (2018), most probably based on Wangdi & Sherub (2014). The picture in Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.70) was re-identified as Matapa druna, and was listed as a first record for Bhutan in Van der Poel et al. (2023). As there appeared to be no other records of the species, M. purpurascens was not included in our checklist of Hesperiidae of Bhutan.

 

Pudicitia pholus (de Nicéville, 1889), Spotted Redeye, was described by De Nicéville (1889) as Parnara pholus. At least one and probably both of the two specimens were collected “near Buxa, Bhutan” in August. De Nicéville (1995) placed it in a new genus Pudicitia. Evans (1932) gave the distribution area for P. pholus as Bhutan to Naga Hills. This was probably the source of Van Gasse’s (2018) listing. “Buxa, Bhutan” is presently in Alipurduar District of West Bengal, India. Evans (1949) did not list P. pholus for Bhutan, possibly because Buxa was no longer in Bhutan. Thus, there appears to be no proof of this species having been reported from within the present-day boundaries of Bhutan. Consequently, the species was not included in our Hesperiidae checklist of Bhutan.

 

Suastus minutus (Moore, 1877), Small Palm Bob, was listed by Singh & Chib (2015) and, probably based on that, by Van Gasse (2018). Yazaki & Kanmuri (1985) was listed as a source by Singh & Chib (2015), however, Yazaki & Kanmuri (1985) did not list S. minutus (and also not S. gremius). Thus, it is not clear on which document the listing of S. minutus was based. Consequently, this species was not included in our Hesperiidae checklist of Bhutan.

 

Tribe Baorini

Caltoris brunnea (Snellen, 1876), Dark-branded Swift, was reported for Bhutan by Wangdi & Sherub (2014) from Mongar Dzongkhags and listed for Bhutan by Van Gasse (2018), most probably based on the aforementioned publication. The picture in Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.73) is almost certainly of Pelopidas sinensis. Thus, C. brunnea will be removed from the species checklist of butterflies of Bhutan. Image 3, taken by Karma Wangdi, was identified as possibly C. brunnea and not C. tulsi, C. kumara or C. cahira. The chance of it being C. brunnea was considered too low (<90%) to justify listing it as a tentative species.

 

Parnara ganga Evans, 1937, Continental Swift, was only reported for Bhutan by Wangdi & Sherub (2014) from Samdrup Jongkhar Dzongkhags and listed for W. Bhutan by Van Gasse (2018), most probably based on Wangdi & Sherub (2014). Parnara bada (Moore, 1878) was reported from Bhutan in several publications, including Wangdi et al. (2012). The individual in Image 4, copied from Wangdi & Sherub (2014, p.72), does not show the characteristics of P. ganga as indicated by Evans (1949): upperside forewing may have a lower cell spot. It also does not have the characteristics indicated by Evans (1949) for P. bada: the upper side forewing may have an upper cell spot and the underside hindwing may have a spot in 6. However, the hindwing spots of P. bada are generally smaller than those of P. ganga. Thus, the individual in image 4 is more likely to be P. bada, and its identification as P. ganga is doubtful, not warranting reporting it as a first record or tentative record for Bhutan. As there appeared to be no other records, Parnara ganga was not included in our checklist of Hesperiidae of Bhutan.

 

Pelopidas thrax (Hübner, [1821]), Desert Branded Swift, was reported for Bhutan by Sbordoni et al. (2015) and Van Gasse (2018). The picture on which Sbordoni et al. (2015) based their listing has not been found. The source of Van Gasse’s (2018) listing of spp. masta may have been Sbordoni et al. (2015). Although it is likely to occur in Bhutan, no evidence for P. thrax has been found, and consequently, it was not included in our Hesperiidae checklist of Bhutan.

 

4. Species not recorded in the last 70 years (one species not since 1985):

Choaspes furcata Evans, 1932, Hooked Awlking, listed by Evans (1949, possibly based on Evans (1932)), no recent reports; often (FUNET, Varshney & Smetacek 2015, Van Gasse 2018) listed as Choaspes furcatus. The original description was C. plateni furcata and GBIF lists is as Choaspes furcata;

Hasora taminatus (Hübner, 1818), White-banded Awl, was reported in old BNHM documents (Kehimkar 2008) and reported by Yazaki & Kanmuri (1985), no recent reports;

Celaenorrhinus badia (Hewitson, 1877), Scarce Banded Flat, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown), no recent reports;

Celaenorrhinus pyrrha de Nicéville, 1889, Double-spotted Flat, was described from Bhutan by De Nicéville (1889) and listed by Evans (1949), no recent reports;

Capila zennara (Moore, 1866]), Pale Striped Dawnfly, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown), no recent reports;

Gerosis bhagava (Moore, [1866]), Common Yellow-breast Flat, listed by Kehimkar (2008), based on old BNHM documents, recent listings had no evidence;

Pyrgus cashmirensis Moore, 1874, Kashmir Skipper, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown), no recent reports.

Baracus vittatus (Felder, 1862), Hedge Hopper, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown), no recent reports;

Creteus cyrina (Hewitson, 1876), Nonsuch Palmer, listed by Evans (1949) possibly based on De Nicéville (1895), no recent reports;

Potanthus confucius (C. & R. Felder, 1862), Chinese Dart, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown). Recent listings and postings on BBP were wrongly identified or had no or insufficient evidence. One BBP posting was likely to be P. confucius, but some characteristics for a reliable confirmation were not visible;

Potanthus nesta (Evans, 1934), Brandless Dart, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown), recent listings had no or insufficient evidence;

Potanthus palnia (Evans, 1914), Palni Dart, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown), recent listings had no or insufficient evidence;

Potanthus rectifasciata (Elwes & Edwards, 1897), Branded Dart, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown). It was described by Elwes & Edwards (1897) from Sikkim. No recent reports;

Koruthaialos butleri (de Nicéville, [1884]), Dark Velvet Bob, described from Bhutan, recent listings had no evidence or were not identifiable (too dark);

Caltoris tulsi (de Nicéville, [1884]), Purple Swift, listed by Evans (1949, source of listing unknown), recent listings had no evidence or were wrongly identified;

Pelopidas subochracea (Moore, 1878), Moore’s Swift, listed by Kehimkar (2008), based on old BNHM documents, recent listings were wrongly identified or were listed without verifiable evidence.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The main difference between the present and the three previous checklists is that the previous ones seldom checked the reliability of the identifications in their source documents. It appeared that Singh & Chib (2015) often accepted the reported identifications in their source documents as correct if the species was reported by several sources regardless of the accuracy. They appeared more critical if a species was only reported by one source. Van Gasse (2018) generally accepted reported records of species that were likely to occur in Bhutan, apparently without critically checking the presented evidence. Sbordoni et al. (2015) looked more critically at the presented pictorial evidence but still accepted certain identifications  that Van der Poel et al. (2023) considered to be misidentifications.

Sixteen of the species in the updated checklist have not been reported with verifiable evidence in the last 70 years. Many other species reported from nearby areas such as Sikkim and western Arunachal Pradesh are likely to be present in Bhutan. To increase the chance of finding these species regular, systematic butterfly surveys in a wide range of habitats across Bhutan are recommended.

Misidentification is not just a problem  for beginning butterfly photographers. Earlier, the authors indicated that most probably all identifications of P. dara in Bhutan were wrong. This is what Evans (1949) wrote on misidentifications of P. dara:

“[dara is given in] Fig Lep Ind, pl. 816/3 as nala. Of the figures marked dara: Leech, pl. 40/14 is pava; Elwes & Edwards, pl. 25/69 genitalia are flava; Kershaw 1905, pl. 14/22 is pseudomaesa clio; Lep Ind, pl. 814/2 is palnia and trachala tytleri; Rhop Java, pl. 9/65 is trachala.”

The authors urge all butterfly researchers and surveyors to double-check their identifications and have them verified by experts before publishing them, and to publish their findings only in peer-reviewed journals.

A persistent problem, especially on the Indian subcontinent, is the use of different scientific and common names of species by different organisations. In theory, there is only one correct scientific name for a species. However, scientists do not always agree on newly proposed names or on raising subspecies to species level. Moreover, with increased DNA sequencing, the placement and names of many species will change. Zhang et al. (2022) presented significant recent taxonomic changes based on genomic analysis. Hou et al. (2023) added additional taxonomic changes. Beginning butterfly surveyors often use the names as indicated in the books they use to identify the species, but usually, these books have several outdated scientific names, which is inevitable. The situation has become more confusing on the Indian subcontinent since the website of the Indian Foundation of Butterflies (IFB) not only changed common names when considering the standard names “colonial leftovers”, but also gave common names to subspecies. For the Hesperiidae checklist of Bhutan, the authors based their scientific and common names on scientific and historical evidence. Researchers and butterfly photographers in Bhutan are encouraged to use these names. Standardization of the common butterfly names across the Indian subcontinent is recommended. Moreover, to reduce confusion, common names should only be used for species and not for subspecies. Due to progress in DNA sequencing of the butterflies, there will be many taxonomic changes in the future. These changes are more likely to affect subspecies than species and thus this is an extra reason to not give common names to subspecies.

 

 

CONCLUSIONS

 

The authors present a comprehensive checklist of Hesperiidae in Bhutan, resulting from a thorough review of all available records. The updated checklist (Table 1) comprises 145 confirmed species, four tentative species, and one unidentified species, subspecies, or form (listed as “cf.”). This revised checklist supersedes previous versions, offering enhanced accuracy and reliability. To ensure transparency, the authors also provide supplementary lists of excluded species, detailing the rationale for their omission. This rigorous approach ensures a trustworthy reference for future research and conservation efforts.

 

Table 1. Checklist of Hesperiidae of Bhutan.

*—Source documents (see References for details): a+b=publication (a) that reported this species and publication (b) that presented the related evidence. 

CTS18: Cheku et al. (2018); CBF23: Chiba et al. (2023); dNc**: De Nicéville (18**) ** = 83[84], 85, 86, 89, 90, 95; Drj14: Dorji (2014); Ev49: Evans (1949); Hr87: Harada (1887a); JSW14: JSWNP (2014); K08-old lit: Kehimkar (2008) based on old documents in BNHS library; Nd15: Nidup (2015); P&W07: Van der Poel & Wangchuk (2007); PWK23: Van der Poel et al. (2023); S&C16: Singh & Chib (2016); Sb15: Sbordoni et al. (2015); Si12: Singh (2012); Si14: Singh (2014); vG15: Van Gasse (2015); W&S14: Wangdi & Sherub (2014); Wea12: Wangdi et al. (2012); Wm&dN87: Wood-Mason & de Nicéville (1887); Y&K85: Yazaki & Kanmuri (1985).

 

Species name

Authority, year

Subspecies (Authority, year)

Common name

Bht 1st record*

Bht recent record

Subfamily COELIADINAE

 

 

 

 

(no recent observt.)

1

Badamia exclamationis

(Fabricius, 1775)

 

Brown Awl

K08-old lit

W&S14

2

Bibasis sena

(Moore, [1866])

sena (Moore, [1866])

Orange-tailed Awlet

K08-old lit

W&S14

3

Burara amara

(Moore, [1866])

 

Small Green Awlet

Si12

 ← see 1st record

4

Burara anadi

(de Nicéville, [1884])

anadi (de Nicéville, [1884])

Plain Orange Awlet

PWK23

 

5

Burara gomata

(Moore, [1866])

gomata (Moore, [1866])

Pale Green Awlet

Sb15+ PWK23

 

6

Burara harisa

(Moore, [1866])

harisa (Moore, [1866])

Orange-striped Awlet

W&S14

 ←

7

Burara jaina

(Moore, [1866])

jaina (Moore, [1866])

Orange Awlet

K08-old lit

Si12

8

Burara oedipodea

(Swainson, 1820)

belesis (Mabille, 1876)

Branded Orange Awlet

Ev49

W&S14

9

Burara vasutana

(Moore, [1866])

 

Green Awlet

W&S14

 ←

10

Choaspes benjaminii

(Guérin-Méneville, 1843)

japonica (Murray, 1875)

Indian Awlking

Wea12

 ←

11

Choaspes furcata

Evans, 1932

 

Hooked Awlking

Ev49

 

12

Choaspes xanthopogon

(Kollar, [1844])

 

Similar Awlking

PWK23

 ←

13

Hasora anura

de Nicéville, 1889

anura de Nicéville, 1889

Slate Awl

K08-old lit

PWK23

14

Hasora badra

(Moore, [1858])

badra (Moore, [1858])

Common Awl

W&S14

15

Hasora chromus

(Cramer, [1780])

chromus (Cramer, [1780])

Common Banded Awl

K08-old lit

W&S14

16

Hasora taminatus

(Hübner, 1818)

bhavara Fruhstorfer, 1911

White-banded Awl

K08-old lit

Y&K85/

17

Hasora vitta

(Butler, 1870)

indica Evans, 1932

Plain Banded Awl

W&S14

 ←

Subfamily EUDAMINAE

 

 

 

 

 

18

Lobocla liliana

(Atkinson, 1871)

liliana (Atkinson, 1871)

Marbled Flat

K08-old lit

 PWK23

Subfamily TAGIADINAE

 

 

 

 

 

Tribe Celaenorrhini

 

 

 

 

 

19

Celaenorrhinus badia

(Hewitson, 1877)

 

Scarce Banded Flat

Ev49

 

20

Celaenorrhinus dhanada

(Moore, [1866])

dhanada (Moore, 1865)

Himalayan Yellow-banded Flat

Ev49

W&S14 + PWK23

affinis (Elwes & Edwards, 1897)

PWK23

 ←

21

Celaenorrhinus leucocera

(Kollar, [1844])

 

Common Spotted Flat

dNc89

Wea12

22

Celaenorrhinus munda

 

(Moore, 1884)

 

munda (Moore, 1884)

Himalayan Spotted Flat

 

Y&K85

W&S14

maculicornis (Elwes & Edwards, 1897)

W&S14

 ←

23

Celaenorrhinus nigricans

(de Nicéville, 1885)

nigricans (de Nicéville, 1885)

Small-banded Flat

Ev49 (mb outside Bht)

Sb15+ PWK23

Tentv

Celaenorrhinus plagifera

de Nicéville, 1889

 

De Nicéville's Spotted Flat

dNc89 (Knyvett collection)

 

24

Celaenorrhinus pulomaya

(Moore, [1866])

pulomaya (Moore, [1866])

Multi-spotted Flat

dNc89

PWK23

25

Celaenorrhinus putra

(Moore, [1866])

putra (Moore, [1866])

Bengal Spotted Flat

Ev49

W&S14

26

Celaenorrhinus pyrrha

de Nicéville, 1889

 

Double-spotted Flat

dNc89

 

27

Celaenorrhinus ratna

Fruhstorfer, 1909

tytleri Evans, 1926

Tytler’s Multi-spotted Flat

Wea12

 ←

28

Pseudocoladenia fabia

(Evans, 1949)

 

Dented Pied Flat

Ev49

PWK23

29

Pseudocoladenia fatua

(Evans, 1949)

 

Sikkim Pied Flat

Ev49

PWK23

30

Pseudocoladenia festa

(Evans, 1949)

 

Naga Pied Flat

Ev49

Wea12

31

Sarangesa dasahara

(Moore, [1866])

dasahara (Moore, [1866])

Common Small Flat

Ev49

Y&K85/W&S14

Tribe Tagiadini

 

 

 

 

 

32

Abaratha agama

(Moore, [1858])

agama (Moore, [1858])

Spotted Angle

Ev49

W&S14

33

Abaratha angulata

(C. Felder, 1862)

angulata (C. Felder, 1862)

Chestnut Angle

Ev49

W&S14

34

Capila jayadeva

Moore, [1866]

 

Striped Dawnfly

K08-old lit

JSW14+ PWK23

35

Capila pennicillatum

(de Nicéville, [1893])

pennicillatum (de Nicéville, [1893])

Fringed Dawnfly

PWK23

36

Capila zennara

(Moore, [1866])

 

Pale Striped Dawnfly

Ev49

 

37

Coladenia agni

(de Nicéville, [1884])

agni (de Nicéville, [1884])

Brown Pied Flat

PWK23

38

Coladenia indrani

(Moore, [1866])

indrani (Moore, [1866])

Tricolour Pied Flat

Ev49

Drj14

39

Coladenia pinsbukana

(Shimonoya & Murayama, 1976)

occidentalis Huang, 2021

Large-spot Pied Flat

Hr87

PWK23

40

Darpa hanria

Moore, [1866]

 

Hairy Angle

W&S14

 ←

41

Gerosis bhagava

(Moore, [1866])

lebadea (Hewitson, 1886)

Common Yellow-breast Flat

K08-old lit

 

42

Gerosis phisara

(Moore, 1884)

phisara (Moore, 1884)

Dusky Yellow-breast Flat

K08-old lit

P&W07

43

Gerosis sinica

(C. & R. Felder, 1862)

narada (Moore, 1884)

White Yellow-breast Flat

Wea12

 ←

44

Pintara tabrica

(Hewitson, 1873)

tabrica (Hewitson, 1873)

Crenulate Orange Flat

CTS18

 ←

45

Satarupa zulla

Tytler, 1915

zulla Tytler, 1915

Tytler’s White Flat

W&S14

 ←

46

Seseria sambara

(Moore, [1866])

sambara (Moore, [1866])

Sikkim White Flat

Ev49

PWK23

47

Tagiades gana

(Moore, [1866])

athos Plötz, 1884

Suffused Snow Flat

K08-old lit

W&S14

48

Tagiades ravi

(Moore, [1866])

ravi (Moore, [1866])

Common Snow Flat

K08-old lit

W&S14

49

Tagiades litigiosa

Möschler, 1878

litigiosa Möschler, 1878

Water Snow Flat

K08-old lit

W&S14

50

Tagiades menaka

(Moore, [1866])

menaka (Moore, [1866])

Spotted Snow Flat

Ev49

W&S14

51

Tagiades parra

Fruhstorfer, 1910

gala Evans, 1949

Large Snow Flat

Si12

 ←

52

Mooreana trichoneura

(C. & R. Felder, 1860)

pralaya (Moore, [1866])

Yellow Flat

W&S14

 ←

53

Tapena vasava

(Moore, [1866])

vasava (Moore, [1866])

Tawny Angle

W&S14

 ←

Subfamily PYRGINAE

 

 

 

 

 

Tribe Carcharodini

 

 

 

 

 

54

Spialia galba

(Fabricius, 1793)

galba (Fabricius, 1793)

Indian Skipper

W&S14

 ←

Tribe Pyrgini

 

 

 

 

 

55

Pyrgus cashmirensis

Moore, 1874

cashmirensis Moore, 1874

Kashmir Skipper

Ev49

 

Subfamily CHAMUNDINAE

 

 

 

 

 

56

Chamunda chamunda

(Moore, [1866])

 

Olive Flat

S&C16

 ←

Subfamily HETEROPTERINAE

 

 

 

 

 

57

Carterocephalus avanti

(de Nicéville, 1886)

 

Orange and Silver Hopper

Ev49

PWK23

58

Carterocephalus houangty

Oberthür, 1886

bootia Evans, 1949

Bhutan Mountain Hopper

Ev49

Hr87/PWK23

Subfamily TRAPEZITINAE

 

 

 

 

 

Tribe Barcini

 

 

 

 

 

59

Apostictopterus fuliginosus

Leech, [1893]

curiosa (Swinhoe, 1917)

Giant Hopper

Wea12

 ←

Subfamily HESPERIINAE

 

 

 

 

 

Tribe Aeromachini

 

 

 

 

 

60

Aeromachus kali

(de Nicéville, 1885)

 

Blue-spotted Scrub Hopper

Y&K85

W&S14

61

Aeromachus pygmaeus

(Fabricius, 1775)

 

Pigmy Scrub Hopper

PWK23

62

Aeromachus stigmata

(Moore, 1878)

stigmata (Moore, 1878)

Veined Scrub Hopper

dNc90

Wea12

63

Ampittia dioscorides

(Fabricius, 1793)

dioscorides (Fabricius, 1793)

Bush Hopper

S&C16+PWK23

64

Ampittia subvittatus

(Moore, 1878)

subradiatus (Moore, 1878)

Tiger Hopper

Wdm& dNc87

PWK23

65

Arnetta atkinsoni

(Moore, 1878)

 

Atkinson’s Bob

Si12

 ←

66

Baracus vittatus

(C. Felder, 1862)

septentrionum Wood-Mason & de Nicéville, [1887]

Hedge Hopper

Ev49

 

67

Creteus cyrina

(Hewitson, 1876)

cyrina (Hewitson, 1876)

Nonsuch Palmer

dNc95

 

68

Halpe arcuata

Evans, 1937

 

Overlapped Ace

W&S14

 ←

69

Halpe aucma

Swinhoe, 1893

 

Gold-spotted Ace

PWK23

 ←

70

Halpe filda

Evans, 1949

 

Elwes' Ace

Si14

 ←

71

Halpe kumara

de Nicéville, 1885

 

Plain Ace

deNcv85

Wea12

72

Halpe molta

Evans, 1949

 

Molta Ace

vG18 (listed as ssp.) + PWK23

 ←

73

Halpe porus

(Mabille, [1877])

 

Moore’s Ace

K08-old lit

PWK23

74

Halpe sikkima

Moore, 1882

 

Sikkim Ace

W&S14

 ←

75

Halpe zema

(Hewitson, 1877)

zema (Hewitson, 1877)

Banded Ace

W&S14

 ←

76

Pedesta aina

(de Nicéville, 1889)

 

Garhwal Ace

W&S14

 ←

Tentv

Pedesta fusca

(Elwes, [1893])

fusca (Elwes, [1893])

Fuscous Ace

PWK23

 ←

77

Pedesta gupta

(de Nicéville, 1886)

gupta (de Nicéville, 1886)

Olive Ace

PWK23

 ←

cf.

Pedesta cf. gupta

 

 

(Yellow-spotted Olive Ace)

(PWK23)

 ←

78

Pedesta hyrie

(de Nicéville, 1891)

hyrie (de Nicéville, 1891)

Large-spot Plain Ace

Ev49

W&S14

79

Pedesta masuriensis

(Moore, 1878)

masuriensis (Moore, 1878)

Mussoorie Bush Bob

Y&K85

W&S14

80

Pedesta pandita

(de Nicéville, 1885)

 

Brown Bush Bob

Y&K85

Wea12

81

Pedesta serena

(Evans, 1937)

 

Serena Ace

P&KC23

 ←

82

Pithauria murdava

(Moore, [1866])

 

Dark Straw Ace

Wm&dNc87

PWK23

83

Pithauria stramineipennis

Wood-Mason & de Nicéville, [1887]

stramineipennis Wood-Mason & de Nicéville, [1887]

Light Straw Ace

Wm&dNc87

Si12

84

Sebastonyma dolopia

(Hewitson, 1868)

 

Tufted Ace

K08-old lit

PWK23

85

Sovia grahami

(Evans, 1926)

grahami (Evans, 1926)

Graham's Ace

PWK23

86

Sovia lucasii

(Mabille, 1876)

magna (Evans, 1932)

Lucas' Ace

W&S14

 ←

87

Sovia separata

(Moore, 1882)

separata (Moore, 1882)

Chequered Ace

Ev49

Wea12

88

Thoressa cerata

(Hewitson, 1876)

 

Northern Spotted Ace

W&S14

 ←

Tribe Astictopterini

 

 

 

 

 

89

Astictopterus jama

C. & R. Felder, 1860

olivascens Moore, 1878

Forest Hopper

PWK23

90

Cupitha purreea

(Moore, 1877)

 

Wax Dart

Ev49 (dNc84 is probably Buxa)

PWK23

Tentv

Zographetus ogygia

(Hewitson, [1866])

ogygia (Hewitson, [1866])

Purple-spotted Flitter

PWK23

Tentative

91

Zographetus satwa

(de Nicéville, [1884])

 

Purple and Gold Flitter

W&S14

 ←

Tribe Taractrocerini

 

 

 

 

 

92

Cephrenes acalle

(Hopffer, 1874)

oceanica (Mabille, 1904)

Plain Palm Dart

PWK23

 ←

93

Oriens gola

(Moore, 1877)

pseudolus (Mabille, 1883)

Common Dartlet

PWK23

 ←

94

Oriens goloides

(Moore, [1881])

 

Ceylon Dartlet

Ev49

H87/W&S14

95

Potanthus confucius

(C. & R. Felder, 1862)

dushta (Fruhstorfer, 1911)

Chinese Dart

Ev49

 

Tentv

Potanthus ganda

(Fruhstorfer, 1911)

ganda (Fruhstorfer, 1911)

Sumatran Dart

Wea12

 ←

96

Potanthus nesta

(Evans, 1934)

nesta (Evans, 1934)

Brandless Dart

Ev49

 

97

Potanthus pallida

(Evans, 1932)

 

Pale Dart

Ev49

W&S14

98

Potanthus palnia

(Evans, 1914)

palnia (Evans, 1914)

Palni Dart

Ev49

 

99

Potanthus pseudomaesa

(Moore, [1881])

clio (Evans, 1932)

Indian Dart

PWK23

 ←

100

Potanthus rectifasciata

(Elwes & Edwards, 1897)

 

Branded Dart

Ev49

 

101

Potanthus trachala

(Mabille, 1878)

tytleri (Evans, 1914)

Broad Bi-dent Dart

W&S14: Tentv

PWK23

102

Taractrocera danna

(Moore, 1865)

 

Himalayan Grass Dart

Ev49

Y&K85/P&W07

103

Taractrocera maevius

(Fabricius, 1793)

sagara (Moore, [1866]

Common Grass Dart

K08-old lit

W&S14

104

Telicota bambusae

(Moore, 1878)

bambusae (Moore, 1878)

Dark Palm Dart

W&S14

 ←

105

Telicota colon

(Fabricius, 1775)

colon (Fabricius, 1775)

Common Palm Dart

K08-old lit

PWK23

Tribe Erionotini

 

 

 

 

 

106

Erionota torus

Evans, 1941

 

Banana Skipper

vG18 (? re-ID of spp. in W&S’14) + PWK23

 ←

107

Gangara lebadea

(Hewitson, 1868)

lebadea (Hewitson, 1886)

Banded Redeye

PWK23

 ←

108

Gangara thyrsis

(Fabricius, 1775)

thyrsis (Fabricius, 1775)

Giant Redeye

PWK23

 ←

109

Hyarotis adrastus

(Stoll, [1780])

praba (Moore, [1866])

Tree Flitter

K08-old lit

W&S14

110

Matapa aria

(Moore, [1866])

 

Common Redeye

K08-old lit

PWK23

111

Matapa cresta

Evans, 1949

 

Fringed Redeye

PWK23

 ←

112

Matapa druna

(Moore, [1866])

 

Grey-brand Redeye

PWK23

 ←

113

Matapa sasivarna

(Moore, [1866])

 

Black-veined Redeye

Si12

 ←

114

Pirdana hyela

(Hewitson, 1867)

major Evans, 1932

Green-striped Palmer

PWK23

 ←

115

Salanoemia noemi

(de Nicéville, 1885)

 

Spotted Yellow Lancer

PWK23

 ←

116

Scobura isota

(Swinhoe, 1893)

 

Swinhoe’s Forest Bob

PWK23

 ←

117

Suastus gremius

(Fabricius, 1798)

gremius (Fabricius, 1798)

Indian Palm Bob

K08-old lit

PWK23

118

Unkana ambasa

(Moore, [1858])

attina (Hewitson, [1866])

Hoary Palmer

PWK23

 ←

Tribe Notocryptini

 

 

 

 

 

119

Ancistroides nigrita

(Latreille, [1824])

diocles (Moore, [1866])

Chocolate Demon

Ev49

W&S14

120

Ancistroides curvifascia

 

(C. & R. Felder, 1862)

curvifascia (C. & R. Felder, 1862)

Restricted Demon

dNc89

Y&K85/P&W07

121

Ancistroides feisthamelii

(Boisduval, 1832)

alysos (Moore, [1866])

Spotted Demon

K08-old lit

(Y&K85)/Wea12

122

Ancistroides paralysos

(Wood-Mason & de Nicéville, 1881)

asawa Fruhstorfer, 1911

Common Banded Demon

K08-old lit

W&S14

123

Ancistroides folus

(Cramer, [1775])

 

Grass Demon

Ev49

Y&K85/W&S14

Tribe Ismini

 

 

 

 

 

124

Iambrix salsala

(Moore, [1866])

salsala (Moore, [1866])

Chestnut Bob

W&S14

 ←

Tribe Psolosini

 

 

 

 

 

125

Koruthaialos butleri

(de Nicéville, [1884])

 

Dark Velvet Bob

dNc86

 

126

Psolos fuligo

(Mabille, 1876)

subfasciatus (Moore, 1878)

Coon

Nd15

 ←

Tribe Baorini

 

 

 

 

 

127

Baoris farri

(Moore, 1878)

farri (Moore, 1878)

Paintbrush Swift

K08-old lit

W&S14 (1st pic)

128

Borbo cinnara

(Wallace, 1866)

 

Rice Swift

K08-old lit

W&S14

129

Caltoris aurociliata

(Elwes & Edwards, 1897)

 

Yellow-fringed Swift

PWK23

 ←

130

Caltoris cahira

(Moore, 1877)

austeni (Moore, [1884])

Colon Swift

(vG18-source?) PWK23

 ←

131

Caltoris kumara

(Moore, 1878)

moorei (Evans, 1926)

Blank Swift

PWK23

 ←

132

Caltoris tulsi

(de Nicéville, [1884])

tulsi (de Nicéville, [1884])

Purple Swift

Ev49

 

133

Iton semamora

(Moore, [1866])

semamora (Moore, [1866])

Common Wight

PWK23

 ←

134

Parnara bada

(Moore, 1878)

bada (Moore, 1878)

Ceylon Swift

Wea12

 ←

135

Parnara guttata

(Bremer & Grey, [1852])

guttata (Bremer & Grey, [1852])

Straight Swift

K08-old lit

Y&K85/ W&S14 (pic1)

136

Pelopidas agna

(Moore, [1866])

agna (Moore, [1866])

Obscure-branded Swift

W&S14

 ←

137

Pelopidas assamensis

(de Nicéville, 1882)

 

Great Swift

K08-old lit

W&S14

138

Pelopidas conjuncta

(Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)

conjuncta (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)

Conjoined Swift

K08-old lit

W&S14

139

Pelopidas mathias

(Fabricius, 1798)

mathias (Fabricius, 1798)

Small-branded Swift

K08-old lit

W&S14

140

Pelopidas sinensis

(Mabille, 1877)

 

Large-branded Swift

Wea12

 ←

141

Pelopidas subochracea

(Moore, 1878)

subochracea (Moore, 1878)

Moore's Swift

K08-old lit

 

142

Polytremis lubricans

(Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)

lubricans (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)

Contiguous Swift

K08-old lit

W&S14

143

Pseudoborbo bevani

(Moore, 1878)

 

Bevan's Swift

K08-old lit

P&W07

144

Zenonoida eltola

(Hewitson, 1869)

eltola (Hewitson, 1869)

Yellow-spot Swift

K08-old lit

Y&K85/Wea12

Tribe Hesperiini

 

 

 

 

 

145

Ochlodes brahma

(Moore, 1878)

 

Himalayan Darter

Y&K85

P&W07

 

 

For images - - click here for full PDF

 

 

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Internet sources:

BBP (Bhutan Biodiversity Portal): https://biodiversity.bt/

FUNET: https://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/hesperioidea/hesperiidae/

GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Foundation): https://www.gbif.org/

IFB (Indian Foundation of Butterflies): https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/hesperiidae

iNaturalist.org: https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/236579

Observation.org: https://observation.org/taxa/16229/

Yutaka (Inayoshi, Y.): A Check List of Butterflies in Indo-China - Chiefly from Thailand, Laos & Vietnam (including pictures of specimens): https://yutaka.it-n.jp/hespi.html.