| Peacock Awl (previously known as Ismene doleschallii) COELIADINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
female
(Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay)
|
| Peacock Awl (previously known as Ismene doleschallii) COELIADINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
female
(Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay)
The Caterpillars of this species grow to a length of about 3 cms. The are cream with orange transverse bands along the abdomen, a black band across the thorax, a white tail, and an orange head. They feed on :
Each caterpillars construct a shelter by cutting out a semicircular piece of leaf and attaching it with silk to another leaf. The caterpillars feed on leaves, including the inside of their shelter until it looks like a colander. They then construct a larger shelter, living there until that is eaten through, and so on. They pupate inside their last shelter.
The adults of this species are black with a metallic green sheen toward the base of each wing.
The undersides are similar with white spots. The legs are orange. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 4 cms.
The species is found as various subspecies across the west Pacific, including
including the subspecies doleschallii in the north-east Australia in
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp 76-77.
Baron Cajetan von Felder,
Lepidopterorum Amboinensium a Dre. L. Doleschall annis 1856-58 collectorum species novae,
in G.R. Frauenfeld (ed.) Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien,
Volume 40, Part 11 (1860), pp. 460-461, No. 48.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 1 November 2001, 27 October 2022)