Pedesta pandita

Brown bush bob Pedesta pandita
Lateral view
Dorsal view
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Pedesta
Species:	P. pandita
Binomial name
Pedesta pandita (de Nicéville, 1885)
Synonyms
Thoressa pandita de Nicéville, 1885

Pedesta pandita, the brown bush bob, is a species of skipper, a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. The species was first described by Lionel de Nicéville in 1885.[1]

Description

For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

The wingspan of the brown bush bob is 25–30 mm (1.0–1.2 in).[1]

In 1891, in his Hesperiidae Indica, Edward Yerbury Watson wrote:

Upperside brown, sparsely clothed with ochreous scales. Forewing with a quadrate transverse spot at the end of the cell, three conjoined subapical ones, and two similar discal ones, semi-diaphanous ochreous. Cilia ochreous. Hindwing immaculate. Underside brown, forewing with the apex widely, and the costa and the entire hindwing ferruginous ochreous. Forewing with the spots as above.

Hindwing with a very indistinct small black spot at the end of the cell, and a discal series of similar short streaks between the nervules. Cilia ochreous.

Antennae black, the tip of the club and the upper portion of the shaft below the club ferruginous.[2]

Distribution and habitat

The brown bush bob is distributed from Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh in India and is also found in Myanmar.[1] The flight of this infrequently seen species is fast and determined but not that fast as other fast-flying skippers. They usually fly close to the ground, and after a quick flight, will settle down in a preferred spot. They are usually spotted in wet soil or damp rock and are also found extracting nutrients from a bird droppings. Occasionally they will bask in the sun, opening their wings half-closed like other skippers. They are predominantly found in the lower elevation forest tracks or sometimes can be spotted near streams or falls.[1]

Seasonality

The brown bush bob is best seen from April to October.[1]

References

1. Kehimkar, Isaac (2016). BHNS Field Guides Butterflies of India. Mumbai: Bombay Natural History Society. p. 92. ISBN 9789384678012.
2. Watson, E. Y. (1891). Hesperiidae Indica: Being a Reprint of Descriptions of the Hesperiidae of India, Burma and Ceylon. Madras: Vest and Company. p. 81.