| Northern Silver Ochre (previously known as Hesperia maheta) TRAPEZITINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
|
| Northern Silver Ochre (previously known as Hesperia maheta) TRAPEZITINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
The Caterpillar of this species is pinkish green, with prominent dark lines along the body. The head has a depression, and is brown edged with black. The caterpillar feeds on various types of Mat-rush (ASPARAGACEAE) such as :
and lives in a shelter at the base of a clump of the foodplant. The caterpillar grows to a length of about 2.5 cms.
The pupa has a length of about 2 cms. It is pale brown with dark spots, and a black patch on the thorax. The pupa is covered in a white waxy powder.
The adult male and female butterflies are very similar, except the wings of the female are more rounded. The wings of both sexes are dark brown with a series of translucent pale yellow spots and patches on each forewing. The hind wings each have a central broad orange band.
Underneath, the wings are paler brown with white patches. The white patches on the hindwings are lustrous and outlined in black. The wing span is about 3 cms.
The male adults of this species are well-known for congregating around hilltops. The species occurs in
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp 95-96.
William Chapman Hewitson,
Descriptions of twenty-three new species of Hesperidae,
4 19: 76-85 [80].
Annals and Magazine of Natural History,
Series 4, Volume 19 (1877), p. 80.
Wesley Jenkinson,
Life history notes on the Northern Silver Ochre, Trapezites maheta
(Hewitson, 1877) Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae,
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
Metamorphosis Australia,
Issue 100 (March 2021), pp 19-23.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 18 November 2009, 5 August 2024)