''Suastus gremius'', the Indian palm bob or palm bob, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

belonging to the family

Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...

. It is found in the Indomalayan realm.Corbet, A. S. & Pendlebury, H. M., 1956. ''The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula'' Edn. 2. Edinburgh Oliver and Boyd xi+537 pp, 159 figs, 55 pls.

Description

Subspecies

*''S. g. gremius'' South India, Northwest Himalayas to Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Hainan, Hong Kong, Formosa, Langkawi, Malaya *''S. g. chilon'' Doherty, 1891 Sumba *''S. g. subgrisea'' (Moore, 1878) Sri Lanka

Biology

The larva feeds on species of '' Phoenix'' , ''

Rhapis ''Rhapis'' is a genus of about 10 species of small palms native to southeastern Asia from southern Japan and southern China south to Sumatra. The species are commonly known as lady palms. They are fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae), with ...

'', ''

Caryota ''Caryota'' is a genus of palm trees. They are often known as fishtail palms because of the shape of their leaves. There are about 13 species native to Asia ( China, India, Indonesia, etc.), northern Australia, and the South Pacific. One of th ...

'' and ''

Washingtonia ''Washingtonia'' is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States (in southern California, and southwest Arizona) and northwest Mexico (in Baja California and Sonora). Both ''Washingtonia'' species are commonly cultivated across t ...

'' File:Indian Palm Bob (Suastus gremius) in Talakona forest, AP W IMG 8562.jpg File:Suastus gremius of Kadavoor.jpg File:Suastus gremius 03.jpg Palm bob (Suastus gremius) Bali I.jpg, On

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

References

Hesperiinae Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Singapore Butterflies of Indochina {{Hesperiinae-stub