Tagiades japetus

Pied flat
Tagiades japetus obscurus from Kerala
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Tagiades
Species:	T. japetus
Binomial name
Tagiades japetus (Stoll, 1782)
Synonyms
Tagiades jepetus (Stoll, [1781]) Papilio japetus Stoll, [1781] Tagiades janetta Butler, 1870 Tagiades clericus Butler, 1882 Tagiades kowaia Plötz, 1885 Tagiades gamelia Miskin, 1889 Tagiades australensis Mabille, 1891 Tagiades tindalii Ribbe, 1899 Tagiades bubasa Swinhoe, 1904 Tagiades hovia Swinhoe, 1904 Tagiades louisa Swinhoe, 1907 Tagiades fergussonius Fruhstorfer, 1910 Tagiades inconspicua Rothschild, 1915 Tagiades vulcania Evans, 1934 Hesperia atticus Fabricius, 1793 Tagiades utanus Plötz, 1885 Tagiades yotissa Fruhstorfer, 1910 Tagiades rajaghra Fruhstorfer, 1910 Pterygospidea japetus ravi Moore, [1866] Tagiades lugens Mabille, 1883 Tagiades khasiana Moore, 1884 Tagiades epicharmus Fruhstorfer, 1910 Tagiades obscurus Mabille, 1876 Tagiades distans Moore, [1881]

Tagiades japetus, commonly known as the pied flat or the common snow flat, is a species of spread-winged skipper butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is widely distributed, being found from India, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, to Australia. It contains twenty-four recognized subspecies.

The eggs are laid on the upper surface of young leaves. They hatch in about six days, whereupon they will construct a leaf shelter by cutting the edge of a leaf, folding a triangular piece back, and then attaching it with silk. During the day, they hide under this shelter and only emerge at night to feed. The larvae feed on leaves of vines belonging to the genus Dioscorea; including Dioscorea transversa, Dioscorea alata, and Dioscorea numularia. They may make other shelters as they grow larger. After about 23 days, they pupate inside their final shelter, emerging as adults after 10 days. The adults are quick flyers, maintaining a height relatively close to ground. They are usually encountered resting underneath leaf surfaces. They feed on nectar from flowers during the morning. Mating is not seasonal and adults emerge all throughout the year. However, the population is greatest during the wet season.

Tagiades japetus have a wide range of occurrence. They are found from Sri Lanka and India to the Himalayas, and Indochina. They also occur throughout the Maritime Southeast Asia to the Philippines and down to Papua New Guinea and the surrounding islands, and northeastern Australia.

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