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tanghb
05-Oct-2005, 12:22 AM
Saw this skipper today and when I tried another angle by just shifting my head a bit, it darted off in a straight line at incredible speed. This is the fastest butterfly I have seen.

Would appreciate if anyone here can help with its ID.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/tanghb/SCGS/20051004_1410d_SCGS_Butterfly_Garde.jpg
Commander
05-Oct-2005, 08:14 AM
Tang, this is one of the Telicota species. Where did you shoot it?
tanghb
05-Oct-2005, 01:38 PM
Khew, I saw it in my school.

We have planted the following plants at the back of our school to attract butterflies:
Lantana, Ixora Javanica, Pagoda Flower, Cat’s Whiskers, Jatropha, Cuphea hyssopifolia, Cassia biflora, Lime plant, Curry leaf.

It's been a month now and they don't seem to be attractive to the butterflies, yet. A few days ago, I saw that skipper on our plants but did not have my camera with me. Yesterday I saw it again and managed to take a few shots. In the butterfly checklist in Butterflypals, I saw the two species of Telicota: Telicota augias augias and Telicota besta bina. The one I saw is not one of these two. Is it an unusual species?
Commander
05-Oct-2005, 02:29 PM
The success of a free-ranging butterfly trail depends on the surroundings as well. If your school has no 'hinterland' from which to draw the butterflies, the level of success will be quite limited.

As for the Telicota species, it is unreliable to ID them from field shots like yours. The males and females are different as well, plus the markings in a lot of skippers are highly variable. What made you conclude that you shot a different species from the checklist in BPals?
tanghb
05-Oct-2005, 03:07 PM
If mine is one of the two spcies in the checklist, I thought you woud have stated it in your last post. Now that I know the markings in a lot of skippers are highly variable, I cannot say whether mine is/is not one of the 2 species. Let me link the images of the two species together for comparison:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/tanghb/SCGS/20051004_1410d_SCGS_Butterfly_Garde.jpg

Telicota augias augias (Palm Dart):
http://www.b-pals.com/butts/photo1/252_1116516062.jpg

Telicota besta bina
http://www.b-pals.com/butts/photo1/251_1114306364.jpg