Orsotriaena medus

Orsotriaena medus moira Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914
(previously known as : Mycalesis medus)
Nigger
SATYRINAE, NYMPHALIDAE

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

(updated 4 May 2004)

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

The eggs of this species are pale green and have a diameter of about 1 mm. They are laid on the underside of a leaf of a food plant. The Caterpillars of feed on various members of the Grass family ( POACEAE ), including :

Cogon Grass ( Imperata cylindrica ),

Rice ( Oryza sativa ), and

Guinea Grass ( Panicum maximum ).

The Caterpilars are variously: white, pink, yellow or green. They have two pairs of horns on the head, one pair pointing forward, and one back. They grow to a length of about 4 cms.

They pupate hanging from a cremaster from a leaf of the food plant. The pupa is brown with a dark line along each side, and has a pointed head. The pupa has a length of about 2 cms.

The wings of the adult butterflies are dark brown, with a faint pale stripe across each wing. The undersides are similar, except that each wing has at least two eyespots. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

The species is found from India to New Guinea, and the subspecies moira is found in Cape York in Australia. This species is considered to be endangered in Australia.