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Luzon Grass Dart

Taractrocera luzonensis luzonensis

Photo by John B.
Published on Project Noah
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15.4558, 119.922

Field Notes

Description:

Taractrocera luzonensis luzonensis (Staudinger, 1889). I posted a spotting, on Project Noah, of a Luzon Grass Dart just a few days before I took the first photo above (the only picture I could get, before it flew away). I remembered that the previous spotting also had only one picture -
https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1177849284...
So, I looked back to see if there was any chance of adding this latest picture, to improve the earlier spotting by giving a different view. It proved to be useless because, in both photos, the butterflies were in identical postures. There are many species of "Darts" in the Philippines and when they are in a "closed wing posture", they are often very difficult to differentiate. So, I almost gave up and was close to deleting the first picture above, on the basis that no one would benefit from seeing two identical photos within three days of each other. However, I looked back through my old pictures (taken before I joined Project Noah) and I found what I needed - a picture of a Taractrocera luzonensis luzonensis (Luzon Grass Dart) in an "open wing posture". So, I have included this (the second photo above) as it gives a much better view for identification purposes. Philippine Lepidoptera point out that this type of Butterfly (in the subfamily Hesperiinae) always adopt a closed wing posture when feeding and an open wing posture (or partially open) when resting. So, by adding the older photo, both positions can be seen which should help for identification purposes.

Habitat:

The first picture shows the Luzon Grass Dart which is the subject of this spotting. It was resting on the ground in our front yard - not very representative of its true habitat, but it was only a few feet from some flower beds. The second picture is from Jan 9, 2017 and was taken at the edge of a rice field. As explained, in Description above, this second photo is only to help anyone who may have difficulty in identifying this kind of butterfly.

Notes:

It is important to mention that Taractrocera luzonensis luzonensis (Staudinger, 1889) is endemic to the Philippines.

Species ID Suggestions

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