Hasora discolor mastusia

Hasora discolor mastusia Fruhstorfer, 1911
Green Awl
COELIADINAE, HESPERIIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Peter R. Samson,
Bureau of Sugar Experiment Station, Mackay.

(updated 9 April 2004)

(Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

These Caterpillars have a series of black bands running along the back and yellow bands along each side, all broken into rectangles by sets of intersegmental transverse white bands. The head is orange and the thorax yellow. The Caterpillars feed on :

Velvet Bean ( Mucuna gigantea, FABACEAE ), and

Mucuna novoguineensis ( FABACEAE ).

They grow to a length of about 4 cms. They live in a shelter made by cutting and folding a leaf and joining it by silk. They pupate in the same shelter.

(Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

The adult butterflies are dark brown on top, tending to green at the body. The underside is dark metallic green with a broad yellow band across each wing. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 4 cms. They rest typically hanging upside-down under a leaf.

This species occurs as several subspecies in New Guinea, and the subspecies mastusia along the Queensland coast in Australia.