''Hasora badra'',TOL web page o
genus ''Hasora''
Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera - page on genu

the common awl, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

belonging to the family

Hesperiidae Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...

, which is found in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Description

The butterfly, which has a wingspan of 50 to 55 mm, is unmarked dark brown above. It resembles the common banded awl (''

Hasora chromus ''Hasora'', the awls, are a genus of skipper butterflies. ''Hasora'' species are found in the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. Species * '' Hasora alta'' de Jong, 1982 Sumatra * '' Hasora anura'' (de Niceville, 1889) - slate awl ** ''Haso ...

''), except that it has no white band below; and the apex of the forewing and the disc of the hindwing below are purple washed. The male has apical spots but no brands above. The female has large yellow spots in cell 2 and 3, and apical dots. The Sri Lankan race has no apical spots on the male above and no purple wash below.

Detailed description

Edward Yerbury Watson Edward Yerbury Watson (27 July 1864 – 8 November 1897) was an English entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera most notably Hesperiidae. Yerbury Watson was born in British India to Joanna and George Edward Watson. He joined the North Lanca ...

(1891) gives a detailed description, shown below:

Range

The butterfly is found in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, north

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, western

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n archipelago (

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

, and

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

), the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

, the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...

and

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

. In India the butterfly is found in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, where it occurs in the Western Ghats, and the Nilgiris; and in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

from

Mussoorie Mussoorie () is a hill station and a municipal board, in Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about from the state capital of Dehradun and north of the national capital of New Delhi. The hil ...

eastwards to

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

and through to Myanmar. It is also found in the

Andaman Andaman may refer to: * Andaman Islands, an island group in the Bay of Bengal * Andaman Island, Penang, an artificial island in George Town, Penang * Andaman Sea, a sea of the eastern Indian Ocean * ''Andaman'' (1998 film), an Indian Kannada-lang ...

and Nicobar islands. The type locality is

, Indonesia.

Status

William Harry Evans Brigadier William Harry Evans (born 22 July 1876 in Shillong – died 13 November 1956, Church Whitfield ) was a lepidopterist and British Army officer who served in India. He documented the butterfly fauna of India, Burma and Ceylon in a se ...

(1932) described it as not rare.

Host plants

The larva has been recorded on ''

Derris ''Derris'' is genus of leguminous plants. It contains 65 species, which range from eastern Africa to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, northern Australia, and the southwest Pacific islands. The roots of '' D. elliptica'' cont ...

trifoliata'', ''

Derris elliptica ''Derris eliptica'' is a species of leguminous plant from Southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific islands, including New Guinea. The roots of ''D. elliptica'' contain rotenone, a strong insecticide and fish poison. Also known as ''derris powde ...

'', ''

Millettia ''Millettia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It consists of about 169 species of shrubs, lianas or trees, which are native to tropical and subtropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, sout ...

pachycarpa'' and ''

Pongamia ''Pongamia pinnata'' is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, native to eastern and tropical Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands. It is the sole species in genus ''Pongamia''. It is often known by the synonym ''Millettia pinnata''. ...

'' species.

Cited references

References

Print * * * Watson, E. Y. (1891) ''Hesperiidae indicae''. Vest and Co. Madras. * Online * *Brower, Andrew V. Z., (2007). Hasora Moore 1881. Version 21 February 2007 (under construction). Page o
genus Hasora
in The Tree of Life Web Project http://tolweb.org/. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hasora Badra Hasora Taxa named by Frederic Moore Butterflies of Singapore Butterflies described in 1857 Butterflies of Sri Lanka Butterflies of Taiwan Butterflies of Japan Butterflies of Malaysia Butterflies of Java Butterflies of Borneo Lepidoptera of the Philippines Butterflies of Indochina