Herimosa albovenata

Herimosa albovenata (Waterhouse, 1940)
(one synonym: Anisynta albovenata)
White Veined Skipper
TRAPEZITINAE, HESPERIIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 4 August 2001)

These Caterpillars are pale green with dark lines along the body, and grow to a length of about 2 cms. They have a mottled brown head and a brown tail with long white hairs. The Caterpillars feed on various species of Spear Grass :

Rough Spear Grass ( Austrostipa scabra ),

Fibrous Spear Grass ( Austrostipa semibarbata ),

Delicate Spear Grass ( Austrostipa falcata ), and

Elegant Spear Grass ( Austrostipa eremophila ),

all of POACEAE. The Caterpillars build a shelter with the entrance on top at the base of a foodplant. They rest, head upward, in their shelter by day, emerging to feed at night. They pupate in a similar shelter, head upward.

(Photo: courtesy of Robert Fisher)

The upper side of the adult butterfly is dark brown with a series of pale yellow spots on each fore wing. Underneath, the wings are similar but paler, but they also show pronounced white veins, and the hind wings show a number of pale spots between the veins. The wing span is about 3 cms.

The species is found in various small localities distributed over inland New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia. It occurs as three subspecies:

albovenata,

fuscata, and

weemala.