These Caterpillars are initially green with a black head. Later instars are brown with indistinct longitudinal lines. They have a brown head that has a pair of small horns, and there is another pair of horns on the last abdominal segment. The Caterpillars grow to a length of about 2 cms. They feed on various species of Grass ( POACEAE ).

The pupa is black and spiky, and suspended by a cremaster.

(Photo: courtesy of Museum Victoria)

The wings of the adult butterflies are basically brown, with a complex tracery of darker lines Each wing has two eyespots : one large and one small. Underneath, the wings are similar, but the two eyespots on each wing are nearly equal in size. The butterflies have a wing span of about 4 cms.

The eggs are pale yellow and spherical, and laid singly on the underside of a leaf of a foodplant.

The species is found in

Victoria.

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Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 485-486.

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