Heteronympha banksii

Heteronympha banksii (Leach, 1814)
(previously known as Hipparchia banksii)
Banks' Brown
SATYRINAE, NYMPHALIDAE

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

(updated 15 July 2004)

(Photo: courtesy of Museum Victoria)

These Caterpillars are initially green with a black head. Later instars are brown and covered in white tubercles and have wavy dark lines along the back and sides. They have a brown head that has a pair of small horns, and there is another pair of horns on the tail. The Caterpillars feed nocturnally on various Grasses and Sedges including :

Drooping Sedge ( Carex longebrachiata, CYPERACEAE ),

Dark Fruited Saw Grass ( Gahnia melanocarpa, CYPERACEAE ),

Slender Tussock Grass ( Poa tenera, POACEAE ).

By day, the Caterpillars rest at the base of the foodplant. The Caterpillars grow to a length of about 2.5 cms.

The pupa can be either green or brown, and has a length of about 1.3 cms. It is suspended head down by a cremaster from a stem of the foodplant.

(Photo: courtesy of R.P. Field; © Museum Victoria)

The wings of the adult butterflies are brown with yellow patches. The forewings also each have a small white spot by the wing tip. The hind wings have one eyespot each. Underneath, the fore wings are similar, but the hind wings are fawn with dark markings, and each has two eyespots. The butterflies have a wing span of about 5 cms. They are usually confined to the mountains, generally above 300m, where they inhabit the more lush ravines and hillsides. The males are fairly active, searching out the females, defending territories, feeding at flowers, and enjoying the sunshine. This can make them a challenge to catch as they are so active.

The species is found the mountains, above 300 m. It has been classified into three subspecies:

banksii in New South Wales and eastern Victoria,

mariposa in southern Queensland, and

nevina in western Victoria.