Hesperilla sarnia Atkins, 1978
Swift Sedge-skipper
TRAPEZITINAE,   HESPERIIDAE,   HESPERIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


male
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

This Caterpillar is purple fading to pink at the tail, with white lines along the body, and has a brown head. The caterpillar feeds nocturnally, and by day lives in a shelter constructed from foodplant leaves and silk. The caterpillers are known to feed on :

  • Nut Rush ( Scleria levis, CYPERACEAE ).

    The caterpillar grows to a length of about 3 cms. It pupates in its larval shelter.

    The adult male butterflies are dark brown with a small yellow spot and a black line on each forewing. The females have three yellow spots and no black line on each forewing. Underneath, the males are paler brown with two small yellow spots under each forewing. Females are similar to the males underneath, but the spots are larger.

    This species occurs in localised areas of

  • Queensland.


    Further reading :

    Andrew F. Atkins,
    The Hesperilla malindeva group from northern Australia, including a new species (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae),
    Journal of the Australian Entomological Society,
    Volume 17, Part 3 (1978), p. 212.

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 160-161.


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    (updated 6 March 2004, 5 January 2024)