Peter R. Samson,
Bureau of Sugar Experiment Station, Mackay,
S.J. Johnson, P.R. Wilson,
&
Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
(updated 18 December 2005)
(Photo : courtesy of
The Australian Entomologist)
This Caterpillar is hairy and greenish grey, with orange around each spiracle, and an orange head and tail.
Young Caterpillars have two raised black spots on the thorax, but these become less evident in later instars. The Caterpillar hides by day, and is known to feed nocturnally on :
The Caterpillars are unusual for Lycaenids in that they appear to have no association with ants. The Caterpillars grow to a length of about 3 cms.
The pupa is brown and hairy, and attached by the tail and a central girdle, and has a length of about 2 cms.
The adult butterflies are dimorphic. The males are dark brown on top, with a diagonal white bar and white spots near the apex on each forewing.
The females have similar forewings, but each has a large brown patch by the base, and the hindwings are totally brown.
Underneath, both sexes are brown with the white diagonal bar and black and white spots by the base and apex. The hindwings each each have arc of white edged black spots around the margin, as well as other white, brown and black markings. The butterflies have a wingspan up to 5 cms.
The eggs are barrel-shaped and purple. They are have a diameter of about 0.7 mm. They are laid in small groups under leaves of a foodplant. When the Caterpillar hatches, its first act is to eat the eggshell.
The species is found in New Guinea as several subspecies. The subspecies punctaria is found in north Queensland.
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 2000, Volume 2, pp. 855-856.
Max S. Moulds,
Notes on the distribution and adult behaviour of
Praetaxila segecia punctaria (Fruhstorfer)
(Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Riodininae),
Australian Entomological Magazine,
Volume 18, Number3 (1991), pp. 113-114.
Peter R. Samson, S.J. Johnson, & P.R. Wilson,
The life history of
Praetaxila segecia punctaria (Fruhstorfer)
(Lepidoptera:Lycaenidae:Rodininae),
The Australian Entomologist, Volume 26 (1999), pp. 57-63.
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