Junonia hedonia

Junonia hedonia zelima (Fabricius, 1775)
(one synonym: Precis zelima)
Brown Soldier
NYMPHALINAE , NYMPHALIDAE

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

(updated 8 May 2008)

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

These Caterpillars are black except for the prothorax which is orange. They are cylindrical with a series of branched hairs along the body. They feed on various plants from the family ACANTHACEAE, including :

Karamat ( Hygrophila angustifolia ),

Red Ivy ( Hemigraphis alternata ), and

Ruellia tuberosa.

The pupa is knobbly and is mottled brown in colour. It hangs head down usually on a blade of grass near the foodplant.

(Specimen: courtesy of Coffs Harbour Butterfly House)

The wings of the adult butterflies are brown with a pattern of darker zig-zag lines and circles. There are indistinct white spots by the wing tips of the fore wings.

(Specimen: courtesy of Coffs Harbour Butterfly House)

Underneath, They are are brown with fainter markings, except for a row of white spots on each hindwing. The butterflies have a wing span up to 6 cms.

The species is found from Singapore to the Solomons, and including the subspecies zelima in the Northern Territory and Queensland.