Hesperilla ornata

Hesperilla ornata ornata (Leach, 1814)
(one synonym: Telesto monotherm)
Spotted Skipper
TRAPEZITINAE , HESPERIIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
and
Peter R. Samson & Stella Crossley

(updated 22 December 2005)

Hesperilla ornata
(Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

This is a smooth pale green Caterpillar with stripes along the body, and a pink tinge on the last two segments. It has a brown head with a black mark down the middle. It lives in a tubular shelter made by joining leaves of its foodplant together with silk.

It feeds on a variety of plants from the genera :

Sedge ( Carex ), and

Sword Grass ( Gahnia ),

both of CYPERACEAE .

The Caterpillar lives in its shelter by day and feeds nocturnally, growing to a length of about 3 cms.

(Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

It pupates in its tubular shelter. The pupa has a length of about 2.5 cms.

(Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The adult butterfly has brown wings, with white spots on the forewings, and orange marks on the hind wings. The adults have a wingspan of about 4 cms.

underside
(Specimen: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The undersides of the wings are white with black markings. The underside of the body has black and white stripes.

(Photo: courtesy of Ken Harris, Morwell Park, Victoria)

The species is found along the non-tropical eastern seaboard of mainland Australia, and in the adjacent mountain ranges, as two subspecies :

ornata in Victoria, New South Wales, and southern Queensland, and

monotherm in northern Queensland.

The eggs are white and laid singly on the underside of a leaf of a foodplant.