Arrhenes dschilus (Plötz, 1885)
Scrub Darter
 (previously known as Apaustus dschilus)
HESPERIINAE,   HESPERIIDAE,   HESPERIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Arrhenes dschilus
male
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

Thes Caterpillars are bluish green with an olive green dorsal stripe, a pale brown head, and two black spots on the tail. The Caterpillars feed on :

  • Cogon Grass ( Imperata cylindrica ),
  • Guinea Grass ( Panicum maximum ), and
  • Sugar Cane ( Saccharum officinarum ),

    all of the family POACEAE.

    Arrhenes dschilus
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

    The butterflies of this species are brown with orange markings. The males have a black mark on the upper surface of each forewing. They have a wingspan of about 3 cms.

    Arrhenes dschilus
    underside: male
    (Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

    Various subspecies occur in

  • New Guinea.

    The subspecies iris (Waterhouse, 1932) occurs in

  • Queensland.

    Arrhenes dschilus
    underside: female
    (Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 214-215.

    Carl Plötz,
    Neue Hesperiides Insichen Archipels und Ost-africa's aus Collection des Herrn H. Ribbe,
    Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift,
    Volume 29, Parts 2 (1885), p. 229, No. 36.

    Gustavus Athol Waterhouse,
    Australian Hesperiidae II, Notes and descriptions of new forms,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Volume 57 (1932), pp. 234-235.

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    (updated 7 February 2010, 22 September 2013, 17 May 2020)