Toxidia melania (Waterhouse, 1903)
(one synonym: Telesto melania)
Black Skipper
TRAPEZITINAE, HESPERIIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 4 November 2001)

This Caterpillar is a purplish-fawn colour with yellow lines, and a brown head. It lives in a shelter by day, constructed by rolling a leaf into a tube or joining several leaves together. At dusk and near dawn, it feeds on Grass ( POACEAE ).


Female
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The adults on top are dark brown. On each forewing, the females have two white spots, and the males have a white edged black sex brand.


Male
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

Underneath, the forewings each have a small white spot near the centre, an the hindwings have several arcs of pale spots.


Female, underside
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The butterflies have a wing span of about 3 cms.


Male, underside
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

They occur in the rainforests of tropical Queensland.


Further reading :

Michael F. Braby, Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, p 135.


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