Pelopidas thrax, commonly known as the Pale Small-branded Swift, Millet Skipper or White Branded Swift, is a butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, western and south-western Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, Arabia, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Kashmir

Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

 (N Pakistan) and the far east. In Greece, it is only known from Samos

Samoš

Samoš is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,247 people .-See also:...

 and Rhodos

Rhodos

In Greek mythology, Rhodos or Rhodus also known as Rhode was the goddess of the island of Rhodes and wife of Helios, she was the daughter of Aphrodite and Poseidon. -References:* Grimal, Pierre, , Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, ISBN 9780631201021....

, where it is found on heights of 0 to 75 meters.

In Greece, adults are on wing in June. In Turkey, two generations were recorded, the first from May to July, the second from late September to mid October.

The larvae are known to feed on Panicum miliaceum in northern Africa. Larvae of ssp. inconspicua have been recorded feeding on Imperata arundinacea, Ehrharta erecta

Ehrharta erecta

Ehrharta erecta is a species of grass also known as panic veldtgrass. The species is native to Southern Africa and Yemen. It is a documented invasive species in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, southern Europe, and China....

, Oryza

Oryza

Oryza is a genus of seven to twenty species of grasses in the tribe Oryzeae, within the subfamily Bambusoideae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Northern Australia and Africa...

and Imperata

Imperata

Imperata is a small genus of grasses known as satintails. Satintail grass species are perennial rhizomatous grasses native to the tropics and warm temperate regions worldwide. They bear solid, erect stems and silky inflorescences...

species.

Subspecies

• Pelopidas thrax thrax
• Pelopidas thrax inconspicua (Bertolini, 1850) (from South Africa to Kenya)
• Pelopidas thrax masta Evans, 1949