Common Brown Ringlet (erroneously: Hypocista metirius) SATYRINAE, NYMPHALIDAE, PAPILIONOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)
These Caterpillars are green or brown with vague light and dark lines along the body. The caterpillars have two short horns with white edges on both the head and the tail. The caterpillars grow to a length of about 2 cms.
They feed on common grasses and sedges such as:
The pupa is angular and brown, and hangs from a stem. It has a length of about 1 cm.
The adult butterflies are brown, with an orange patch on each hind wing ending in an eyespot.
Underneath, the wings are brown, and each hind wing has two eyespots. The adult butterflies have a wingspan of about 4 cms.
The eggs are pale green and spherical. They are laid singly on foodplants.
The species may be found along the east coast of Australia, including
There have been times when Hypocysta metirius , Hypocysta pseudirius , and Hypocysta adiante have been seen flying together. They are very difficult to tell apart in flight
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 482-483.
Arthur G. Butler,
Contributions towards a knowledge of the Rhopalocera of Australia,
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
1875, Part 1, p. 3.
Kelvyn L. Dunn,
A further search for Hypocysta metirius
(Butler 1875) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Southern New South Wales,
Victorian Entomologist,
Volume 45, Part 1 (2016), pp. 13-19.
Wesley Jenkinson,
Life history notes on the Brown Ringlet,
Hypocysta metirius (Butler, 1875) Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae,
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
Metamorphosis Australia,
Issue 78 (September 2015), pp. 16-18.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 11 October 2012, 9 August 2024)