Motasingha trimaculata

Motasingha trimaculata (Tepper, 1882)
(one synonym: Hesperilla quadrimaculata)
Three Spot Skipper
TRAPEZITINAE , HESPERIIDAE

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

(updated 3 May 2008)

(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis, Sydney)

The Caterpillars of this species are a translucent green, with a big black head. They live by day between leaves of the food plant joined with silk, feeding nocturnally on various Sedges in CYPERACEAE, including:

Sword Sedge ( Lepidosperma angustatum ),

Black Rapier Sedge ( Lepidosperma carphoides ),

Sand Hill Sword Sedge ( Lepidosperma concavum ), and

Sticky Sword Sedge ( Lepidosperma viscidum ),

and in HAEMODORACEAE including:

Phlebocarya ciliata.

(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis, Sydney)

The upper side of the adult butterfly is dark brown with a series of pale yellow spots on each forewing. The males additionally have a dark line across part of each forewing. Underneath, the wings are pale brown with white spots under each forewing. They also show pronounced white veins, and the hind wings show a number of pale spots outlines in black between the veins. The wing span is about 3.5 cms.

The species is found in various small localities distributed over inland Australia. It occurs as several subspecies:

trimaculata in Victoria and South Australia,

dea and

dilata in New South Wales, and

occidentalis in Western Australia.