''Telicota colon'', commonly known as the pale palm dart or common palm dart,
[ is a ]butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
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 ...
found in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Description
The larvae are known to feed on '' Bambusa vulgaris'', '' Phragmites karka'', ''Oryza
''Oryza'' is a genus of plants in the grass family. It includes the major food crop rice (species ''Oryza sativa'' and ''Oryza glaberrima''). Members of the genus grow as tall, wetland grasses, growing to tall; the genus includes both annual an ...
'', '' Saccharum'' and '' Ochlandra travancorica''.
Subspecies
*''Telicota colon colon''
*''Telicota colon argeus'' (Plötz, 1883) – pale darter (south-eastern coast of New South Wales, the northern Gulf and northern coast of the Northern Territory, the northern Gulf and north-eastern coast of Queensland and the north-western coast of Western Australia, Irian Jaya, Maluku and Papua New Guinea)
*''Telicota colon vaja'' Corbet, 1942 (Philippines to Sumatra and to Timor)
*''Telicota colon vega'' Evans, 1949 (Papua New Guinea)
*''Telicota colon stinga'' (Malacca)
*''Telicota colon zara'' (St. Mathias)
References
External links
Australian InsectsAustralian Faunal Directory
Taractrocerini
Butterflies of Indochina
Butterflies described in 1775
{{Hesperiinae-stub