Banana Skipper (English name) Erionota torus

Japanese: バナナセセリ（英語表記）Erionota torus

An insect of the Hesperiidae family. It is so named because its larvae are known as pests of bananas. It is large, with a span of 6.5-7.5 cm. The base color of its wings is dark brown, with several yellow markings on the forewings. This butterfly is originally distributed in the tropics from northern India through Assam to Indochina, but was discovered in Okinawa City (formerly Koza City) on the main island of Okinawa in 1971, and continued to thrive until around 1975, expanding its distribution area and causing considerable damage to bananas. At that time, it also thrive in Hawaii and the islands of Saipan and Guam in the Mariana Islands, where it was not originally native, and extermination measures were taken.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

セセリチョウ科の昆虫。幼虫がバナナの害虫として知られるところからこの名がある。大型で開張6.5～7.5cm。翅の地色は暗褐色で前翅に数個の黄紋がある。このチョウは本来インド北部からアッサムを経てインドシナにかけての熱帯に分布しているものであるが，1971年に沖縄本島の沖縄市(旧コザ市)で発見され，以後75年ころまで大発生を続け，分布地域を拡大し，バナナにかなりの被害を与えた。その当時，やはりもともとすんでいなかったハワイおよびマリアナ諸島のサイパン島やグアム島でも大発生し，駆除対策が立てられた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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