Hypocysta pseudirius Butler, 1875
Dingy Ringlet
SATYRINAE,   NYMPHALIDAE,   PAPILIONOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hypocysta pseudirius
(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The Caterpillars of this species are green or brown with stripes along the body, and a pair of dark short horns on the head and a pair of pale short horns on the tail. The back of the head is pale and the front dark brown. The caterpillars grow to a length of 2 cms. They feed on:

  • various Grasses ( POACEAE).

    Hypocysta pseudirius
    (Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

    The pupa is green and angular, with a vague brown dorsal stripe along the abdomen. It is hung by a cremaster from a convenient stem.

    Hypocysta pseudirius
    (Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

    The adult butterflies have a wingspan of about 3 cms. They are brown with a large orange comma-shaped mark ending in an eyespot on each hindwing. The undersides are similar to the upper surfaces only paler, and the hindwings have two eyespots each.

    There have been times when Hypocysta pseudirius, Hypocysta metirius, and Hypocysta adiante have been seen flying together. They are very difficult to tell apart in flight

    Hypocysta pseudirius
    mating pair
    (Photo: courtesy of Boris Branwhite, Wyong Shire, New South Wales)

    The eggs are off-white, and shaped like a cup with a cap and no handle. They are laid singly on a foodplant leaf. The eggs have a width of about 0.5 mm.

    Hypocysta pseudirius
    egg, magnified
    (Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

    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. 483-484.

    Arthur G. Butler,
    Contributions towards a knowledge of the Rhopalocera of Australia,
    Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
    1875, Part 1, pp. 3-4.

    Wesley Jenkinson,
    Life History Notes on the Grey Ringlet, Hypocysta pseudirius Butler, 1875 Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 56 (March 2010), pp. 26-28.


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    (updated 22 December 2012, 11 August 2024)