Toxidia inornatus (Butler, 1883)
(one synonym: Telesto inornata)
TRAPEZITINAE,
HESPERIIDAE
Don Herbison-Evans (
donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley
(updated 18 June 2002)
These Caterpillars are translucent pinkish green,
with obscure linear markings.
The head is black with a white line down
each side. The Caterpillar lives in the debris at
the foot of its foodplant or in
a shelter of leaves joined with silk.
The Caterpillar grows to a length of about 2 cms.
It feeds on various grasses (
POACEAE ), including :
Fine Armgrass ( Urochloa = Brachiaria reptans ).
The butterflies of this species are dark brown all over,
with a purple suffusion on both the upper and under
surfaces of the wings.
The butterflies have a wingspan of about 2.5 cms.
The males have a black line across part of the
upper surface of each forewing.
The species is found in New Guinea,
Cape York, and adjacent islands.
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, p 134.
