Bibasis jaina
Encyclopedia
The Orange-striped Awl, or Bibasis jaina, is a species of hesperid butterfly found in Asia
. The butterfly has been reassigned to genus Burara, and is now Burara jaina. The butterfly is occasionally referred to as the Orange Awlet sometimes, though the latter name is also used for Bibasis harisa
.
, Myanmar
, Thailand
and Vietnam
.
In India
, the skipper is found in the Western Ghats
and the Himalayas
from Garhwal
(Mussoorie
) to Sikkim
and Assam
eastwards to Myanmar
.
The type locality is Darjeeling.
Both sexes:The butterfly, which has a wingspan of 60 to 70mm, is a dark vinaceous brown above. The forewing has an orange costal streak on the forewing, from the base above the cell to about halfway along the wing while the hindwing has an orange fringe. The skipper is paler below and has orange bands along the veins of the hindwing.
Male:The male may have an indistinct dark brand placed centrally on the forewing above, between mid 1b to vein 3.
Watson (1891) gives a detailed description, shown below:
Print
(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. 2nd Ed, (i to x, pp454, Plates I to XXXII), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India. (1891) Hesperiidae indicae. Vest and Co. Madras. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. The butterfly has been reassigned to genus Burara, and is now Burara jaina. The butterfly is occasionally referred to as the Orange Awlet sometimes, though the latter name is also used for Bibasis harisa
Bibasis harisa
Bibasis harisa, or the Orange Awlet , is a species of hesperid found in Asia. The butterfly has been reassigned to genus Burara vide Vane-Wright and de Jong and is now known as Burara harisa....
.
Range
The Orange-striped Awl is found in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the skipper is found in the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
and the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
from Garhwal
Garhwal Division
Garhwal is the north-western region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the north-west by...
(Mussoorie
Mussoorie
Mussoorie is a city and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi...
) to Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
eastwards to Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
.
The type locality is Darjeeling.
Description
- For a key to the terms used see the glossary of Lepidopteran termsGlossary of Lepidopteran termsThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....
.
Both sexes:The butterfly, which has a wingspan of 60 to 70mm, is a dark vinaceous brown above. The forewing has an orange costal streak on the forewing, from the base above the cell to about halfway along the wing while the hindwing has an orange fringe. The skipper is paler below and has orange bands along the veins of the hindwing.
Male:The male may have an indistinct dark brand placed centrally on the forewing above, between mid 1b to vein 3.
Watson (1891) gives a detailed description, shown below:
- Male. Upperside forewing with an orange red subcostal basal streak and an indistinct blackish patch beneath the cell ; front of thorax, anal tuft, and cilia of hindwing bright orange red ; thorax and base of abdomen clothed with bluish grey hairs. Underside paler brown ; both wings with a small black orange red bordered basal spot : forewing with a well-defined purplish white spot within the cell ; and a curved discal series of narrow less defined spots ; posterior margin broadly yellow : hindwing with the veins towards the abdominal margin and cilia orange red ; a curved ill-defined series of narrow purplish white discal streaks. Third joint of palpi brown ; thorax beneath greyish ; middle of abdomen beneath and sides of the bands and legs orange red. Female similar, but with darker bluish grey hairs without the orange red subcostal streak and black discal patch.
Habits
The Orange-striped Awl is an insect of the low foothills having dense jungles and heavy rainfalls. It is rarely seen out of such terrain. Crepescular in nature, the skipper flies early in the mornings or late in the evenings. It has a strong, fast and straight flight. It is best seen in the ravines and nullahs. It hovers at leaves and visits Lantana and other attractive flowers.See also
- CoeliadinaeCoeliadinaeCoeliadinae is a subfamily of the skipper butterfly family . With about 150 described species, this is one of several smallish skipper butterfly subfamilies. It was first proposed by William Frederick Evans in 1937....
- Hesperiidae
- List of butterflies of India (Coeliadinae)
- List of butterflies of India (Hesperiidae)