Potanthus omaha

Lesser dart
Potanthus omaha omaha from Singapore
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Potanthus
Species:	P. omaha
Binomial name
Potanthus omaha (H. Edwards, 1863)
Synonyms [1]
Hesperia omahaH. Edwards, 1863 Pamphila maesoidesButler, 1879 Padraona maesoidesMoore, 1882

Potanthus omaha, commonly known as the lesser dart, is a species of skipper butterflies. It is found in Australia, Indochina, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, India and Indonesia. It includes the following subspecies: ^[2]

• Potanthus omaha bioneEvans, 1949 - endemic to Mindanao, Philippines
• Potanthus omaha copia(Evans, 1932)
• Potanthus omaha omaha(H. Edwards, 1863)
• Potanthus omaha maesina(Evans, 1934) - occurs mainly in Borneo but also found in the Tawi-tawi, Philippines
• Potanthus omaha nita(Evans, 1934) - found in Indonesia, Indonesia; possibly conspecific to P. o. bione.

Description

The recto ground colour dark is dark brown with sharply contrasted bright orange-yellow markings. The verso is black, with the wings again marked yellow. The costal half of the forewing and of the hindwing is heavily dusted with yellowish scales. ^[3] It is a small skipper (wingspan) 20-24 mm.) It is only reliably identifiable through the examination of the male genitalia.

References

1. Savela, Markku. "Potanthus omaha (Edwards, 1863)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
2. Rienk de Jong & Colin Guy Treadaway (1993). "The Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) of the Philippines". Zoologische Verhandelingen. 288: 3–125.
3. Khew, S. K. (2010). A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore. Ink On Paper Communications Pte Ltd.