Hesperilla sexguttata

Hesperilla sexguttata Herrich-Schaffer, 1869
Six Spot Skipper
TRAPEZITINAE, HESPERIIDAE

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

(updated 26 March 2006)

male
(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Entomology)

These Caterpillars are pale green, tending to pink at each end. The head is brown. They have been found feeding on the Sedges ( CYPERACEAE ) :

Cyperus decompositus,

Giant sedge ( Cyperus javanicus ), and

Cyperus microcephalus.

The Caterpillars hide by day in a shelter made by curling foodplant leaves and holding them with silk. The Caterpillars emerge to feed nocturnally.

They pupate in their shelter.

The adult butterflies of this species are dark brown with a row of six close pale yellow spots on each forewing. The males also have a black line running alongside the spots. The wings have a narrow white border. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 2.5 cms.

This species is rare outside the tropics, and occurs as two subspecies :

sela in the north of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Cape York, and

sexguttata along the coast of the southern half of Queensland.