Telicota colon

Telicota colon (Fabricius, 1775)
Pale-orange Darter
HESPERIINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA

Telicota colon
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

This Caterpillar lives in a shelter composed of foodplant leaves joined with silk. It feeds on various Grasses ( POACEAE ), including :

Common Reed ( Phragmites australis ),

Japanese Silver Grass ( Miscanthus sinensis ),

Golden Beard Grass ( Chrysopogon fallax ), and

Canegrass ( Ophiuros exaltatus ).

(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The pupa is brown, and formed in leafy debris.

(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis, Sydney)

The butterflies have a wing span of about 3 cms. They are brown with orange patches.

male
(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Entomology)

The males have a grey patch on each forewing. Underneath, the wings are greenish-yellow, with the same orange patches.

(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The eggs are white and hemispherical. They are laid singly on leaves of a foodplant.

Various subspecies occur over much of south-east Asia, including

The subspecies argea (Plötz, 1883) is found over much of Australia, including

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 220-221.

Johan Christian Fabricius,
Historiae Natvralis Favtoribvs,
Systema Entomologiae (1775), p. 531, No. 376.

Australian
Australian Butterflies

Australian
Australian Moths

(updated 4 April 2009, 2 March 2024)