Oriental Straight Swift (Parnara bada)

mshbd(69)

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Nature Observer

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Latin Name	Observation Date	Location
*Parnara bada*	Oct 06, 2026	Natore, Bangladesh

Scientific Name:
In the scientific world, this skipper butterfly is known as Parnara bada. In English, it is briefly called the 'African straight swift', 'grey swift', or 'Ceylon swift'.
Family and Genus:
According to biological classification, this insect belongs to the order Lepidoptera. It is a species of the genus Parnara under the family Hesperiidae.

Habitat and Distribution:
They are mainly distributed from India through China and Indonesia to Southeast Asia, as well as the northeast coast of Australia. In our country, they are naturally seen in crop fields, grassy areas, and bushes around wetlands and rivers.

Food and Host Plants:
Their larvae or caterpillars mainly get nutrition by eating the leaves of rice plants (Oryza sativa), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), bamboo (Bambusa), and Leersia hexandra grass.

Size and Lifestyle:
They are quite small in size and their wingspan is about 30 mm. The upper side of their wings is dark brown, with very small white dot-like spots. They usually fly fast at low altitudes.

Benefits:
Adult butterflies sit on various wild flowers and crop flowers to drink nectar, which helps in natural pollination and is very beneficial for the ecosystem.

Harmful Effects:
Their larvae cause some damage by eating the leaves of rice and sugarcane. However, they are usually not considered a severe pest.

I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

_{(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.)}

Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	Lightroom
Photography	(Parnara bada)
Photographer	@mshbd
Location	Natore, Bangladesh