Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley
(updated 3 June 2009)
This Caterpillar is pale green. The head is brown with four vertical black stripes. It feeds on various grasses ( POACEAE ) including :
The Caterpillar makes a shelter by joining leaves together with silk, in which it rest by day, and from which it emerges to feed at night. It grows to a length of about 3 cms.
It pupates in its shelter or ground debris nearby.
The adult butterfly on top is dark brown with orange patches. The males have a black zig-zag line on each forewing. The wing span is about 2 cms.
The undersides are similar to the upper surfaces, but paler and patchier.
The eggs are white with red markings. They are laid singly on the underside of a leaf of a foodplant.
The species is found along the north and east of Australia as two subspecies :
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 201-202.
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