ID for a butterfly in Egypt, please.

[Jacqueline Burrell]

This pic was taken in the summer of 2006 in a botanical garden in Cairo.

I have lived in Egypt for some years and have never seen it before or since and have had no success in identified it.

The flower is about two centimetres in diametre.

Thanks

Jacqueline

[Padfield]

I think this is a rather bright Zeller's skipper, Borbo borbonica. The upperside of this skipper is quite dark and because of this you won't find confirmation of my ID on the web. But the underside markings are exactly right for Zeller's, with the black edging to the three white hindwing spots (the arrangement of which is Zeller's precisely). Higgins and Riley describe the underside as being rather bright yellow-brown - not something that comes through in most of the web pictures.

There aren't many butterflies in Egypt and borbonica is said to be a widespread skipper there.

Guy