(one synonym: Pterygospidea japetus)
Pied Black and White Flat
PYRGINAE , HESPERIIDAE
Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley
(updated 29 April 2008)
(Photo: courtesy of
Martin Purvis)
Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley
(updated 29 April 2008)
(Photo: courtesy of
Martin Purvis)
This Caterpillar is grey-green, with white speckles, and a dark dorsal line. The head is dark brown and heart-shaped. By day, the Caterpillar lives under a triangular piece of leaf cut from its foodplant and folded over. At night, the Caterpillar emerges and feeds. Its foodplant is :
The Caterpillar pupates in its shelter.
The adult butterfly has dark brown body. The forewings are dark brown, each having a series of white spots. The hind wings are dark brown at the base fading to white on the trailing edge, and each has two dark brown spots. The underside is nearly identical to the upper surface. The wing span is about 4 cms.
The butterflies often rest with wings open flat in the shade under a leaf, with the head pointing down.
The species is found all over south-east Asia, from Sri-Lanka to the Solomons, including Singapore, and janetta is found along the coastal strip of Queensland, Australia.
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp 73-74.
G.A. Wood,
The life history of Tagiades japetus janetta Butler
(Lepidoptera:Hesperiidae:Pyrginae),
Australian Entomological Magazine, Volume 12, Part 1, p. 85.
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