| Southern Grass-skipper (previously known as Trapezites andersoni) TRAPEZITINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
male
(Specimen: courtesy of the
Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)
|
| Southern Grass-skipper (previously known as Trapezites andersoni) TRAPEZITINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
male
(Specimen: courtesy of the
Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)
The Caterpillars of this species are brown with pinkish areas between the segments. The head is dark brown. By day, the caterpillars rest in a shelter made from one or more rolled leaves. The caterpillars feed nocturnally on Grasses (POACEAE) such as :
The adults are dark brown, with cream spots on each forewing, and an orange patch on each hindwing. The undersides are similar. The males have a black line across part of the upper surface of each forewing. The butterflies have a wing span of about 2 cms.
The eggs are white, developing coloured markings as hatching approaches. They are dome-shaped, with a dozen or so ribs, and have a diameter of about 1 mm. The eggs are laid singly on ground debris near a foodplant.
This species inhabits inland south-eastern Australia, including
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 130-131.
William Forsell Kirby,
Descriptions of new Australian Hesperiidae,
Annals and Magazine of Natural History,
Series 6, Volume 12 (1893), pp. 434-435.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 22 July 2004, 5 January 2024)