Help with ID

[zzy]

Hi everyone. Sorry to trouble all of you again, but I have a few Hesperiinae butts which I can't seem to ID and would really appreciate some kind help with them. Thank you in advance. :)

[Banded Yeoman]

First two are the same, small branded swifts. Second, I think it's a lesser dart.

[Commander]

I wouldn't be so fast to jump to the conclusion that the first two are Small Branded Swifts, Jonathan. There are many lookalikes in this group of skippers. Furthermore, the more elongated wings of the butts in the first two shots suggest other species than a Small Branded Swift.

Skippers are challenging to ID from field shots. Get a copy of C&P4 and take reference from the book when you try to ID butts.

[Banded Yeoman]

Okay, but the markings are identical, arn't they?

[zzy]

Thank you for the help with the ID. I also had trouble with ID-ing the first 2 ones as I refer to the ButterflyCircle photo checklist, that's why I had to post a query here. :)

Yes, but may I please check on where to get and the exact name of the C&P4 book?

[Commander]

The full details of the book are :

The Butterflies of the
Malay Peninsula
by A.S. Corbet and H. M. Pendlebury
(The Malayan Nature Society)
Price : S$71.90
Available at Nature's Niche Bookshop - Orchidville at Mandai Road

[Silverstreak]

Thread moved here....


Are they identical?

[Silverstreak]

Jonathan,

Are they the same?

They are NOT if you look carefully instead of jumping to conclusion!

Here are 2 differences highlighted between #1 and #2 for a starter.

And what led you to identifying them as the Pelopidas mathias mathias (Small Branded Swift). Would you please enlighten all of us why you think so.

The forum here do not treat identification lightly, and off-the-cuff identification without carefully explaining could lead to confusing everyone in the forum ..... if left unchallenged.


In future, please accompany your identification with explanation of features leading you to think it is a particular species.
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[zzy]

Thank you so much Mr Khew for the book info.

Wow, thank you so much Mr Sunny for the detailed analysis! Didn't know that we could analyse the photos this way. Really appreciate it. I'm really a greenhorn when it comes to ID-ing butts and I hope to learn more from all of the experts here.

I have another query, this time with regards to the Bush Brown butterflies, namely the Dark Brand Bush Brown, Dingy Bush Brown and Long Brand Bush Brown. Are there any ways to distinguish these from each other?

I have some photos of Bush Brown lookalikes (I think), but I'm not confident of the exact ID. Could someone please kindly help me out with these? Thank you so much. :)

(Sorry about the poor photography, I have shaky hands and I'm only using digital compact cams)