Small branded swift
Pelopidas mathias
The small branded swift is a small olive brown skipper, a kind of butterfly with a chunky body. Its front wings have little see-through yellowish spots. Its caterpillars like to eat young rice plants.
Lives in
Much of South, Southeast and East Asia, and also tropical Africa and Arabia
Wingspan
4.1 cm (1.6 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people, but its caterpillars can damage rice crops.
What does it eat?
The butterflies drink nectar from flowers. The caterpillars eat rice and other grasses.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 7 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 11 seconds
How big is Small branded swift compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
Small branded swift about 35 km/h (22 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its caterpillars use silk threads to roll up and stitch leaves together while they eat.
2
Newly hatched caterpillars are especially hungry for young rice seedlings.
3
The male has a thin dark streak on each front wing.
you asked
Most asked questions about Small branded swift
?What does the small branded swift caterpillar eat?
Rice and other grasses. It rolls up the leaves with silk while it eats.
?Where does the small branded swift live?
In much of Asia, and also in tropical Africa and Arabia.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Pelopidas mathias
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Hesperiidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Hesperiidae
- Lives on
- Asia, Africa
- Also known as
- Dark small-branded swift, Lesser millet skipper, Black branded swift
Where the facts come from
- Pelopidas mathias (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Monarch butterfly
Peacock butterfly
Blue morpho
Old World swallowtail
Small white
Eastern tiger swallowtail
Southeastern bush katydid
Black-spotted groundbug
Small yellow-legged robber fly
Manatee treesnail
Black-and-gray leafcutter bee
Native drone fly_Luang_Prabang.jpg){kind=link}