Pelopidas mathias
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pelopidas mathias, the dark small-branded swift, small branded swift, lesser millet skipper or black branded swift, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found throughout much of south, southeast and East Asia, and as far as the Philippines. It is also present in tropical Africa and Arabia.
In 1891, Edward Yerbury Watson described it as: Male. Upperside olive brown: forewing with two small yellowish semi-transparent spots within end of cell, three before the apex, and in the male three oblique discal spots followed by a dark-bordered slender straight impressed glandular streak: hindwing with one or two very indistinct pale discal spots. Female with five discal spots in the forewing, and four or five in the hindwing. Underside paler; markings more distinct; hindwing also with a spot at upper end of the cell. Expanse 1.6 inch. (Moore)
P. mathias is considered a pest to rice-growing cultures, although it is not as damaging to rice plants as Parnara guttata. Newly hatched caterpillars are especially voracious in eating young seedlings. They also use silken threads to roll up and stitch together partially eaten leaves for more... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small Branded Swift sighting in Kochi on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 335th most-seen of the 428 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Branded Swift in Kochi on a given day, against under 5% in June, August–September and November–April, the lowest months. Those are among Kochi's wettest months, with about 360 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in January.
16th of 18
Of the 18 cities where we can rate Small Branded Swift sightings, Kochi ranks 16th at under 5%. The best odds are in Nagoya (Japan, about 20%), Prayagraj (India, about 20%) and Tokyo (Japan, about 10%).
Same family: Hesperiidae
The closest relatives of the Small Branded Swift that you can see in Kochi (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Chestnut Bob (about 20%), Common Awl (about 20%) and Indian Palm Bob (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Branded Swift is recorded against all the insects logged in Kochi (7 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
