Telicota ancilla

Telicota ancilla (Herrich-Schaffer, 1869)
Dark Palm Dart
(previously known as Pamphila ancilla)
HESPERIINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Telicota ancilla
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The caterpillar is initially yellowish-green with dark lines along the body, and later becomes reddish-brown. The anal segment is unusual in being rather flat, and usually has a black mark on it. The caterpillar lives by day in a cylindrical shelter made by joining leaves together with silk, and by night emerges to feed on the leaves just below its shelter.

head magnified
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

It feeds on various grasses (POACEAE) including

Blady Grass (Imperata cylindrica),

Common Reed (Phragmites australis),

Johnson Grass (Sorghum halepense),

Vasey Grass (Paspalum urvillei),

and sedges (CYPERACEAE), such as :

Rough Saw-sedge (Gahnia aspera).

pupa
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The caterpillar leaves its shelter to pupate, typically pupating in a curled leaf on the ground.

Male
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The adults are brown with orange patches. The males have a prominent grey line across part of each forewing.

Female
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The undersides are greenish-yellow, with orange and brown patches. The butterflies have a wing span of about 3 cms.

Female, underside
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

This species occurs as over much of south-east Asia, including:

New Guinea, and

and in Australia :

Queensland, and New South Wales.

Egg, highly magnified
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

This caterpillar hatches from a white hemispherical egg laid singly on a foodplant leaf.

Male, underside
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)<

A proposed subspecies baudina Evans, 1949, of Telicota ancilla has been shown actually to be a subspecies of Telicota augias.