This Caterpillar is dark green colour with a darker dorsal line, and a black head. It feeds nocturnally on tussock grass ( Poa species, POACEAE ).

It lives and pupates in a shelter formed by joining several grass stems together with silk in the middle of a tussock. In due course, it pupates in this same shelter.

female
(Photo: courtesy of Museum Victoria)

The adult butterfly is dark brown with several white spots on each forewing. Underneath, the forewings have a similar pattern, but the hindwings are have arcs of white spots. There is a chequered termen to both surfaces each wing, which is broader in the females. The males have a sex brand on the upper forewing surfaces consisting of a short diagonal black line. The wing span is about 3 cms.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Museum Victoria)

The species may be found as five subspecies in Australia, in the mountains of :

Victoria :

namely:

dominula,

drachmophora,

draco,

dyris, and

pria.

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Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp 119-120.

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