Page 94 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Hesperiidae
DISTRIBUTION
DIS TRIBUTION Eastern Australia
DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT
HABITAT T Gullies and swamps, where the host plant occurs as a
HABIT
A
dense understory
HOST PLANTS
T PLANT
HOST PLANTS S Tall Saw-sedge (Gahnia clarkei)
HOS
NOTE
NOTE Caterpillar that occurs in colonies, often several per sedge clump
TE
NO
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but locally common in suitable habitat
CONSERV
CONSERVATION STATUS
TION S
TUS
A
T
A
ADULT WINGSPAN
1¼–1⁄ in (32–36 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1⁄ in (39 mm)
HESPERILLA PICTA
PAINTED SEDGE-SKIPPER
92
(LEACH, 1814)
The Painted Sedge-skipper caterpillar constructs a loose,
cylindrical, vertical shelter in young foliage near the top of
sedge. The larva rests in the shelter during the day and emerges
at night to feed at the end of the leaves. The larvae overwinter

when small. Pupation occurs in the final larval shelter, usually
a loose structure high in the plant, close to a stem, and with an
opening at the top. The pupa, like the caterpillar, is vertical, with
the head up. There are no more than two generations a year.

The genus contains 13 species, all endemic to the Australian
fauna region, with caterpillars of all species feeding on sedges.
The colorful, fast-flying adults feed at flowers but bask
on the sedge in sunlit areas with their wings partially open.
They generally stay close to their breeding areas, where their
caterpillar food plants form dense stands in tall, open forests.

Actual size

The Painted Sedge-skipper caterpillar is
yellowish green with a dark gray middorsal line,
a white subdorsal line, a white dorsolateral line,
and faint white, transverse lines. The posterior
segment is tinged pink. The head is pale brown
with a narrow, pale reddish-brown, median
longitudinal, V-shaped band.