Erionota thrax

Erionota thrax, the palm redeye[1] or the banana skipper, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found from India,[1] through south-eastern Asia to Papua New Guinea. In the north it is found up to southern China. It is an introduced species on various Pacific islands, including the Solomon Islands and Hawaii. It has also been recorded from Mauritius.[2]

Erionota thrax caterpillar on a banana leaf (Musa sp.), Maui, Hawaii
Rolled banana leaf caused by Erionota thrax
Erionota thrax_palm redeye__banana skipper on a banana flowerbud
"Banana skipper" redirects here. For the other butterfly with this common name, see Erionota torus.

Palm redeye
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Hesperiidae
Genus:
Erionota
Species:
E. thrax
Binomial name
Erionota thrax
(Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms
  • Papilio thrax Linnaeus, 1767

The wingspan is 70–77 mm. There are multiple generations per year.

The larvae feed on the leaves of Musa species, especially Musa textilis. It has also been recorded on Cocos nucifera and other palm species.

The rolls in banana leaves that E. thrax larvae create when feeding have been used as overwintering shelters for wasp species Polistes japonicus in Okinawa, Japan.[3][4]

Description

Male and female. Wings above chocolate-brown; anterior wings with three discal pale ochraceous spots, situate one crossing cell, another beneath cell and between the two lower median nervules, and the third and smallest between the first and second median nervules; posterior wings with the fringe greyish-ochraceous. Wings beneath paler than above; posterior wings with a discal, rounded, macular, darker fascia. Body and legs more or less concolorous with wings.

— Edward Yerbury Watson[5]

Subspecies
  • Erionota thrax thrax (Indonesia)
  • Erionota thrax mindana Evans, 1941 (southern and central Philippines)
  • Erionota thrax hasdrubal Fruhstorfer, 1910 (northern Moluccas)
  • Erionota thrax alexandra De Long et Treadaway, 1993 (Luzon, northern Philippines)
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References
  1. R.K., Varshney; Smetacek, Peter (2015). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. New Delhi: Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. p. 54. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164. ISBN 978-81-929826-4-9.
  2. Afrotropical Butterflies: Hesperiidae - Subfamily Hesperiinae
  3. The Banana Skipper's Leaf Scroll: A New Overwintering Site for the Okinawan Paper Wasp, Polistes japonicus / Yosiaki ITO and Hiroaki NAKAMORI
  4. Biological control of the banana skipper, Pelopidas thrax (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera; Hesperiidae) in Hawaii./Mau, R. F. L.; Murai, K.; Kumashiro, B.; Teramoto, K.
  5. Watson, E. Y. 1891. Hesperiidae Indicae: descriptions of the Hesperiidae of India, Burmah and Ceylon. Madras.


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