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Family HESPERIIDAE
This page contains pictures and information about Skipper Butterflies in
subfamily TRAPEZITINAE in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
Butterflies in subfamily TRAPEZITINAE are medium in size with the short and jerky flight.
They are robust build, usually brown with yellow spots. They rest with hindwings partly
open while front wings held erect.
The larvae feed on a variety of
long-leaved plants such as grasses of Poa, Gahnia
(Sword-grass), Patersonia and Xerotes. They usually build
shelter between two leaves joined with silk.
Trapezites symmomus, body length 25mm
This is a large
skipper butterfly. The butterfly
is orange brown in colour. When rest, its wings fold on its back as most
other butterflies. There is one small eyespot and a few white dots on the bottoms
of its forewings. More information and pictures please click on here.
Trapezites iacchus, body length 20mm
Those pictures were taken in Karawatha Forest. There were many of them
flying around in the forest on October. Their Caterpillar is grayish
brown-green.
They hide in the shelter during the day, feed at night. More pictures and
information can be found by clicking here.
- Orange Ochre
 - Trapezites eliena, body length 20mm
- This butterfly is orange brown in colour with white dots on bottom side
of hind wings. The butterfly is small to medium size. Please check this page
for more information.
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- Maheta Skipper, Northern Silver Ochre
- Trapezites maheta, body length 20mm
- Pictures were taken in a Macgregor bushland and Alexandra Hill bushland in early summer. In
the second picture the
butterfly was resting on a Black-boy plant flower stem, guarding his territory.
More information and pictures please click on here.
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- Heath Ochre
 - Trapezites phigalia, body length 20mm
- This butterfly is orange brown in colour with pale brown dots on bottom side
of hind wings. The butterfly is small to medium size. The butterfly
flies rapidly close to ground. Please check this page
for more information.
Large Dingy Skipper, Dingy Grass-Skipper
Toxidia peron or Toxidia peroni, male, body length 25mm
This skipper butterfly is medium size, dark brown in colour with three
yellow dots on each front wing. Male and female look similar except male has
the black strip across each front wing. The butterfly rests with forewings half opened and hind wings fully opened.
More information and pictures can be found in this page.
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- Halyzia Skipper, Eastern Iris-skipper
- Mesodina halyzia, body length 20mm
Male
Female
- The butterflies are dark brown in colour with
white spots on fore wings. The spot patterns are slightly different between
male and female. Their caterpillars are pale green in
colour, covered with white powder. They construct shelter by joining leaves
with silk on Iridaceae, include the Silky Purple Flag Iris. More
information and pictures please find in this page.
Hesperilla ornata, body length 15mm
We found this skipper butterfly a few times in Yugarapul
Park during early summer. It like to rest on a sunny spot. When disturbed, it
fly slowly to another sunny spot and rest. Their larvae feed on Sword-grass Gahnia,
with making the tubular shelters by the grass blades. Please find more
pictures and information in this page.
Painted Skipper
Hesperilla picta, caterpillar length 30mm
The pictures show the caterpillar on its food plant Lanky Swamp
Saw-sedge (Gahnia clarkei). For more information please visit Don
Herbison-Evans & Stella Crossley's Page.
- Reference:
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 893.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus
& Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p457.
- 3. The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia - Michael F
Braby, Australian National University, CSIRO 2004.
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