Mycalesis sirius

Mycalesis sirius (Fabricius, 1775)
(one synonym : Dasyomma zachaeus)
Cedar Bush-brown
SATYRINAE , NYMPHALIDAE

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

(updated 7 May 2008)

(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis, Sydney)

These Caterpillars are brown with stripes along the body. They have pale brown hairy heads which have a pair of pointed horns, and a smaller pair of horns on the tail. The Caterpillars grow to a length of about 4 cms. They feed on various coarse grasses ( POACEAE ), such as :

Ischaemum australe,

Kangaroo Grass ( Themeda triandra ), and

Guinea Grass ( Panicum maximum ).

The Caterpillars usually feed nocturnally, and initially rest by day under the leaf on which they are feeding, Later instars rest in the daytime at the base of the foodplant.

The pupa is brown and is attached head down by cremaster and girdle.

(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Entomology)

The adult butterflies are reddish ("Cedar") brown, with two to four small white eyespots on each forewing, and three to five on each hindwing. Underneath, the butterflies are similar to their upper surfaces, except that a dark edged pale band extends across each wing.

The females are similar to the males, only they are larger, paler, have more rounded wings, and have no sex brand. They have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

The eggs may be either green or yellow, and are roughly spherical. They are laid singly on the underside of foodplant leaves, and have a diameter of about 1 mm.

Various subspecies are found in Indonesia and New Guinea. The subspecies sirius occurs in the Northern Territory and northern Queensland.