Three Spot Skipper
(previously known as Hesperilla quadrimaculata)
TRAPEZITINAE , HESPERIIDAE , HESPERIOIDEA
(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences)
The Caterpillars of this species are a translucent green, with a big black head. They live by day between leaves of the food plant joined with silk, feeding nocturnally on various Sedges in CYPERACEAE, including:
and in HAEMODORACEAE including:
The upper side of the adult butterfly is dark brown with a series of pale yellow spots on each forewing. The males additionally have a dark line across part of each forewing. Underneath, the wings are pale brown with white spots under each forewing. They also show pronounced white veins, and the hind wings show a number of pale spots outlines in black between the veins. The wing span is about 3.5 cms.
The species is found in various small localities distributed over inland Australia as several subspecies:
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 165-166.
Johann Gottlieb Otto Tepper,
The Papilionidae of South Australia,
Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,
Volume 4 (1882), p. 32, and also Plate 2, fig. 1.
(updated 20 March 2011, 21 September 2013)