Zographetus mathewi

Zographetus mathewi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Zographetus
Species:	Z. mathewi
Binomial name
	Zographetus mathewi; Sadasivan et al., 2025

Zographetus mathewi, also known as the Sahyadri spotted flitter, is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Kerala in India. It was described by Kalesh Sadasivan and others in 2025. This species is monotypic.^[1]^[2]

Etymology

This species was named after Indian lepidopterologist George Mathew.^[3]

Description

The upperside forewing of the male is dark chocolate brown with several spots while the upperside hindwing is unspotted and has long brownish-green hairs.^[3]

The underside forewing is bright ochreous yellow, with most spots similar to those in the upperside forewing. The underside hindwing is similar to the forewing but it has a post discal series of purple spots from spaces 1b to 6.^[3]

The female is very similar to the male in appearance.^[3] This species is separated from many similar species by the swollen forewing veins in the males, forewing spots and genitalia.^[2]^[3]

Life cycle

The larvae of this species have been known to feed on the leaves of Aganope thyrsiflora. The duration of the larval stage is around 21 to 26 days and the pupal stage takes about 10 to 11 days.^[3]

Distribution

This species is known from three localities from Kerala - Kottiyoor, Thattekad and Kallar.^[3]

References

↑ "New butterfly species named Zographetus Mathewi discovered in Kerala's Western Ghats". The Times of India. 2025-07-16. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
1 2 George, Sarath Babu (2025-07-13). "New butterfly species, Zographetus mathewi, discovered in Western Ghats". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sadasivan, Kalesh; Kochunarayanan, Baiju; Chandrika, Sujitha Prabhakaran; Augustine, Toms; Palot, Muhamed Jafer; Jose, Jebine; Munnar, Sojan; Nair, Vinayan Padmanabhan (2025-06-30). "A new species of Zographetus Watson, 1893 (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae, Hesperiinae) from the Western Ghats, Peninsular India". Entomon. 50 (2): 191–202. doi:10.33307/entomon.v50i2.1469. ISSN 0377-9335.

[1] "New butterfly species named Zographetus Mathewi discovered in Kerala's Western Ghats". The Times of India. 2025-07-16. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-04-20.

[:0-2] 1 2 George, Sarath Babu (2025-07-13). "New butterfly species, Zographetus mathewi, discovered in Western Ghats". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2026-04-20.

[:1-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sadasivan, Kalesh; Kochunarayanan, Baiju; Chandrika, Sujitha Prabhakaran; Augustine, Toms; Palot, Muhamed Jafer; Jose, Jebine; Munnar, Sojan; Nair, Vinayan Padmanabhan (2025-06-30). "A new species of Zographetus Watson, 1893 (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae, Hesperiinae) from the Western Ghats, Peninsular India". Entomon. 50 (2): 191–202. doi:10.33307/entomon.v50i2.1469. ISSN 0377-9335.

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