Parnara bada (Moore, 1878)
Grey Swift
 (previously known as Hesperia bada)
HESPERIINAE,   HESPERIIDAE,   HESPERIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

This Caterpillar feeds on variuous species in POACEAE, including:

  • Southern Cut Grass ( Leersia hexandra ),
  • Rice ( Oryza sativa ),
  • Sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum ), and
  • Bamboo ( Bambusa ).

    By day the caterpillar rests in a shelter made from leaves joined with silk. It emerges at night to feed. It pupates in its shelter.

    Parnara bada
    (Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)

    The adult butterfly is dark brown, with two white spots on each fore wing.

    Parnara bada
    underside
    (Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)

    The under side is nearly identical to the upper surface. The wing span is about 3 cms.

    The species is found over much of south-east Asia, including

  • India,
  • Japan,
  • Malaysia,
  • Taiwan,

    and the subspecies sida (Waterhouse, 1934) is found over much of the north-east coast of Australia including

  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 243-244.

    Frederic Moore,
    Descriptions of new Asiatic Hesperidae,
    Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,
    1878, Part 3, p. 688.

    previous
    back
    caterpillar
    Australian
    Australian Butterflies
    butterflies
    Australian
    home
    Lepidoptera
    Australian
    Australian Moths
    moths
    next
    next
    caterpillar

    (updated 8 January 2012, 5 January 2024)