Parnara bada (Moore, 1878)
Grey Swift
(previously known as Hesperia bada)
HESPERIINAE,   HESPERIIDAE,   HESPERIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

This Caterpillar feeds on variuous species in POACEAE, including:

  • Southern Cut Grass ( Leersia hexandra ),
  • Rice ( Oryza sativa ),
  • Sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum ), and
  • Bamboo ( Bambusa ).

    By day the caterpillar rests in a shelter made from leaves joined with silk. It emerges at night to feed. It pupates in its shelter.

    Parnara bada
    (Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)

    The adult butterfly is dark brown, with two white spots on each fore wing.

    Parnara bada
    underside
    (Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)

    The under side is nearly identical to the upper surface. The wing span is about 3 cms.

    The species is found over much of south-east Asia, including

  • India,
  • Japan,
  • Malaysia,
  • Taiwan,

    and the subspecies sida (Waterhouse, 1934) is found over much of the north-east coast of Australia including

  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.


    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 243-244.

    Frederic Moore,
    Descriptions of new Asiatic Hesperidae,
    Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,
    1878, Part 3, p. 688.


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    (updated 8 January 2012, 5 January 2024)