Junonia hedonia

Junonia hedonia (Linnaeus, 1764)
(one synonym: Precis zelima)
Brown Soldier
NYMPHALINAE , NYMPHALIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

Junonia hedonia
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

These Caterpillars are black except for the prothorax and head which are orange. The bodies are cylindrical with a series of branched hairs along the body. The caterpillars feed on various plants from the family ACANTHACEAE, including :

Karamat ( Hygrophila angustifolia ),

Red Ivy ( Hemigraphis alternata ), and

Ruellia tuberosa.

The pupa is knobbly and is mottled brown in colour. It hangs head down usually on a blade of grass near the foodplant.

(Specimen: courtesy of Coffs Harbour Butterfly House)

The wings of the adult butterflies are brown with a pattern of darker zig-zag lines and circles. There are indistinct white spots by the wing tips of the fore wings.

(Specimen: courtesy of Coffs Harbour Butterfly House)

Underneath, They are are brown with fainter markings, except for a row of white spots on each hindwing. The butterflies have a wing span up to 6 cms.

The species is found as various subspecies across south-east Asia, including:

Indonesia,

Papua New Guinea, and

Singapore
and as the subspecies zelima in

Northern Territory, and

Queensland.