Toxidia xiphiphora (Lower, 1911)
Sword-brand Grass-skipper
 (previously known as Hesperilla xiphiphora)
TRAPEZITINAE,   HESPERIIDAE,   HESPERIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


male
(Photo: courtesy of Andy Young and Rowan Moore)

These Caterpillars are thought to feed on :

  • Weird Bluestem ( Schizachyrium perplexum, POACEAE ).


    male, underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Andy Young and Rowan Moore)

    The adults are dark brown with pale yellow spots on the upper surfaces. The undersides are paler versions of their upper surfaces. The males have a thick short black sex brand on each forewing. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 3 cms.


    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Andy Young and Rowan Moore)

    This species is found in

  • Northern Territory, and
  • northern Queensland.

    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp 126-127.

    Oswald B. Lower,
    Revision of the Australian Hesperiadae,
    Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
    Volume 35 (1911), pp. 130-131, No. 30.

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    (updated 8 May 2006, 5 January 2024)