Baracus hampsoni Elwes & Edwards, 1897 - Spotted Hedge Hopper

Subspecies in India

No subspecies are listed under this species. It is also known as the Hampson's Hedge Hopper, and "often treated as a subspecies of the Sri Lankan Baracus vittatus (C. Felder, 1862). Another subspecies name, Baracus vittatus gotha Evans, 1949, has appeared in literature. Nothing is known about this taxon beyond the two females (one of them the type) collected in the Anamalais, on which the original description was based (Evans 1949). This name most likely represents a hybrid between hampsoni and subditus, or perhaps an aberration of subditus." (Nitin et al. 2018).
 

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

This species is endemic to the Western Ghats. It was previously known from Goa southward to Kalakad-Mundanthurai TR in Tamil Nadu. Two recent records by Hemant Ogale and Vikram Gupchup from Amboli (Sindhudurg District) and Amba (Kolhapur District), both in south-western Maharashtra and made on 2011/08/20, constitute a range extension of this species into Maharashtra (see image numbers ai360-ai362, ai386).

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands UT
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli UT
Daman & Diu UT
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir UT
Jharkhand
Karnataka4137107
Kerala1315103
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra54
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Puducherry UT
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu11
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total413115202110

Grass spp., Imperata cylindrica (Poaceae).

Key Reference:
Nitin, R., V. C. Balakrishnan, P. V. Churi, S. Kalesh, S. Prakash, and K. Kunte. 2018. Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10(4): 11495–11550.

For the complete list of larval host plants of Indian butterflies, see the page on larval host plants.

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Baracus hampsoni Elwes & Edwards, 1897 – Spotted Hedge Hopper. In Kunte, K., S. Sondhi, and P. Roy (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.12. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/baracus-hampsoni, accessed 2024/03/29.