Page 240 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
TRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION Northeastern and eastern Australia
DISTRIBUTION
DIS
HABITAT
HABITAT
HABIT A T Tall, open forests and the margins of rain forests
HOST PLANTS
HOS
T PLANT
HOST PLANTS S Tropical and temperate grass species in the Poaceae family
NOTE Nocturnal, long-lived, cryptic caterpillar
TE
NO
NOTE
CONSERV A TION S T A TUS Not evaluated, but locally common
CONSERVATION STATUS
CONSERVATION STATUS
ADULT WINGSPAN
1 ⁄ in (30 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
⅞ in (22 mm)
HYPOCYSTA METIRIUS
BROWN RINGLET
238
BUTLER, 1875

The Brown Ringlet caterpillar feeds nocturnally on grass,
resting at the base of a tuft during the day, although early instars
stay on the leaf on which they are feeding. Young caterpillars
feed down the leaf blade but only across to the midvein, forming
scars down one side of the leaf. Mature caterpillars consume the
full leaf as they move down toward the base. The larvae feed and
complete development over a period of between ve weeks and

six months, depending on the location of the population and the
time of year. In the warmer northern areas, caterpillars are found
throughout the year.

The caterpillar pupates on a grass stem, the angular brown pupa
resembling a small, curled, dead leaf hanging from the stem.

The adult butter ies are weak iers and y close to the ground,
although males will often y to hilltops. The genus contains 12

species restricted to Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands.

The Brown Ringlet caterpillar is green or
brown and covered in minute, white dots,
with thin lateral lines, some dark and some
light, running along the body. The head has
two, short, crimson-tipped horns, edged
laterally with a white line. The anal segment
has a forked projection edged in white.

Actual size