Hasora khoda

Hasora khoda (Mabille, 1876)
Narrow-banded Awl
(previously known as Ismene khoda)
COELIADINAE, HESPERIIDAE, HESPERIOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Peter R. Samson & Stella Crossley

Hasora khoda
(Photo: copyright Peter Samson)

These Caterpillars hatch from eggs laid singly on stems and young shoots of a foodplant. The Caterpillars are black with white lines along the body, and are covered sparsely in short white hairs. The Caterpillars feed on various types of FABACEAE, for example :

Australian Native Wisteria ( Austrocallerya megasperma ), and

Sweet Wisteria ( Wisteria sinensis ),

living in a shelter made from a folded leaf. The Caterpillars hide in this by day, coming out at night to feed on young foliage. They also pupate in their shelter.

(Photo: copyright Peter Samson)

They pupate inside their leafy shelter.

(Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

The adults are dark brown with two small pale yellow spots near the center of both surfaces of each fore wing.

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

The hind wings each have a slight tail at the tornus.

female, underside
Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

There is a white bar across the underside of each hind wing.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The males have a dark flash mark on each forewing. The male and female butterflies both have a wing span of about 5 cms.

male, underside
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

This species was originally discovered on the Isle of Pines, Nouvelle Calédonie. The species occurs as nine subspecies, and its range extends from Asia to the south Pacific, including:

Philippines, and

The subspecies haslia Swinhoe, 1899, inhabits the mid-east coast of Australia including:

Queensland, and

New South Wales.