Lower's Grass Dart
HESPERIINAE, HESPERIIDAE, PAPILIONOIDEA
(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Australian National Insect Collection)
The Caterpillars of this species are green with a dark dorsal line, and a brown head. The caterpillars grow to a length up to 4 cms. They feed on various grasses (POACEAE), including
The caterpillars live in a cylindrical shelter made from a leaf of the foodplant. Pupation occurs in a curled leaf on the ground.
The adults are brown with orange patches. The males have a narrow grey line across part of each forewing upper surface. Underneath, the butterflies are greenish-orange with light and dark markings. The butterflies have a wingspan up to 3 cms.
This species occurs in
and the tropical north of Australia in
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 227-228.
Oswald B. Lower,
Revision of the Australian Hesperiadae,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 35 (1911), p. 157, No. 80.
(written 19 March 2004, updated 12 April 2013)