Eurema alitha (C. & R. Felder, 1862)
Scalloped Grass-yellow
 (previously known as Terias alitha)
COLIADINAE,   PIERIDAE,   PAPILIONOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Eurema alitha
(Photo: courtesy of Wesley Jenkinson)

This Caterpillar is greyish-green, with a white line along each side, and transverse bands of dark spots. The caterpillar grows to a length of about 3 cms. It is a pest in Indonesia on:

  • Siris ( Albizia lebbeck, MIMOSACEAE ),

    but in Australia has only been found on :

  • Slender Sweetroot ( Glycine tabacina, FABACEAE ).

    Eurema alitha
    (Photo: courtesy of Wesley Jenkinson)

    The caterpillar leaves its foodplant, to pupate on a stem of an adjacent plant, to which it attaches itself by its tail and a girdle.

    Eurema alitha
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Wesley Jenkinson)

    The adult butterfly on top is yellow with black borders. There is a double indentation in the border about halfway along the margin of each forewing. The adult butterfly is similar to that of Eurema hecabe, but has broader black borders to the hindwings.

    Eurema alitha
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Wesley Jenkinson)

    The undersides are similar to the upper surfaces, except for some obscure brown markings. These markings are more evident in the dry season forms. The wingspan is about 3.5 cms.

    Eurema alitha
    (Photo: courtesy of Wesley Jenkinson)

    The eggs are cream coloured, and spindle shaped, and have a length of about 1 mm. They are laid singly on leaves of a foodplant.

    The species occurs as about 20 races throughout south-east Asia, including:

  • Java,
  • Philippines, and
  • Taiwan,

    and the northern half of Australia including:

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 305-306.

    Baron Cajetan von Felder & Rudolf Felder,
    Wiener Entomologische Monatschrift,
    Vomue 6, Part 9 (1862), p. 289, No. 51.

    Wesley Jenkinson,
    Life History and Notes on the Scalloped Grass-yellow Eurema alitha (C & R Felder 1862) Lepidoptera: Pieridae,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 51, December 2008, pp. 13-14.

    John Moss,
    Further notes on the Scalloped Grass-yellow Eurema alitha and its host plants,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 51, December 2008, pp. 10-13,
    .

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 225.

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    (updated 8 December 2009, 29 December 2023)