Hypocysta irius (Fabricius, 1775)
Northern or Orange Streaked Ringlet
 (erroneously: Hypocista irius)
SATYRINAE,   NYMPHALIDAE,   PAPILIONOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hypocysta irius
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

These Caterpillars are can be either brown or green. They have a forked tail, and a dark brown head with a pair of horns. The caterpillars grow to a length of about 1.5 cms.

Hypocysta irius
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

They feed on common grasses ( POACEAE ), such as:

  • Blady Grass ( Imperata cylindrica ).

    Hypocysta irius
    pupa
    (Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

    The pupa is mottled brown, and has a dorsal ridge on the thorax and lateral flanges each side of the head. It hangs from a stem, and has a length of about 1 cm.

    Hypocysta irius
    (Photo: courtesy of Kath Vail, Inner Pocket, New South Wales)

    The adult butterflies are brown with an extensive orange patch on each wing, and an eyespot on each hindwing.

    Hypocysta irius
    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    Underneath, the wings are brown, and each hind wing has two eyespots. The adult butterflies have a wingspan of about 3 cms.

    Hypocysta irius
    underside
    (Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

    The eggs are yellow and round, with a diameter of about 0.8 mm. They are laid singly on the underside of a foodplant leaf.

    The species is found in

  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 481-482.

    Johan Christian Fabricius,
    Historiae Natvralis Favtoribvs,
    Systema Entomologiae,
    1775, p. 487,     No. 196.

    Wesley Jenkinson,
    Life History notes on the Orange-streaked Ringlet, Hypocysta irius (Fabricius, 1775) Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 66 (September 2012), pp. 14-16.

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    (updated 8 October 2012, 13 March 2015, 2 June 2020)