Caterpillars of Australian NYMPHALIDAE

NYMPHALIDAE of Australia
Daniaids, Browns, Fritillaries, and Nymphs.
PAPILIONOIDEA

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

(updated 11 September 2008)

Most of the common names of the subfamilies in NYMPHALIDAE seem to be derived from considerations of the adult Butterflies.

The "Browns" are probably so-named simply because their basic wing colour is brown!

"Fritillary" is from the Latin: "fritillus" meaning "dice box". In Roman times, such dice boxes were embellished with checkered patterns, and the butterflies in this group have checkered black and brown patterns on the wings.

The "Satyrs", "Nymphs" and "Danaids" may have been named for their similarities to legendary and mythical figures.

The "Satyrs" in Greek mythology were the attendants of Bacchus, God of Wine and Revelry. They were grotesque spirits who danced about in woodland glades, and had the head and torso of a man, but the lower half of a goat. The group of NYMPHALIDAE called "Satyrs" are brown, have prominent eyespots, and are generally found in woodland. So perhaps they were so-named because of their woodland haunts, or perhaps because with their eyespots, they looked like grotesque heads.

The flight of the "Nymphs" is rapid and graceful, and their wings are usually brightly coloured These features together may well be considered reminiscent of the Nymphs in Ancient Greek Mythology.

In contrast: "Danaid" describes the daughters of the king of Argos. They killed their husbands on their wedding night, and for this crime were condemned to the endless and futile task of filling sieve-like vessels with water. The adult Caterpillars and butterflies of this subfamily are poisonous, and the adults have a slow and heavy flight. Whether "Danaids" are named for their slow and heavy flight or because many contain poisons is unclear.

The Caterpillars of NYMPHALIDAE are very varied. Some have long paired filaments dorsally which appear like horns. Some have a head which has a forked top, and a forked terminal abdominal segment. Some are covered in branched hairs (setae).

The pupae of many NYMPHALIDAE species hang vertically by tiny anal hooks from a silken pad (cremaster), which is very distinctive. Other families, if they have a cremaster, tend to stand on it, rather than dangle from it. For some of the Browns, pupation occurs in the ground, and the pupa remains unattached to anything.

The 82 Australian species in NYMPHALIDAE are:

Acraea andromacha : Glasswing

Apatutina erminea

Argynnina cyrila : Cyril's Brown
Argynnina hobartia : Hobart Brown

Argyreus hyperbius : Australian Fritillary

Cethosia cydippe : Red Lacewing
Cethosia penthesilea : Orange Lacewing

Charaxes latona

Cupha prosope : Australian Rustic

Danaus affinis : Black & White Tiger
Danaus chrysippus : Lesser Wanderer
Danaus genutia : Orange Tiger
Danaus plexippus : Wanderer or Monarch

Doleschallia bisaltide : Australian Rustic, Leafwing

Elymnias agondas : Palmfly

Euploea alcathoe : Striped Black Crow
Euploea algea : Long-Branded Blue Crow
Euploea batesii

Euploea climena
Euploea core : Oleander Butterfly or Common Crow
Euploea darchia : Darwin Crow
Euploea modesta
Euploea sylvester : Two-Brand Crow
Euploea tulliolus : Eastern Brown Crow
Euploea usipetes

Geitoneura acantha : Eastern Ringed Xenica
Geitoneura klugii : Klug's Xenica
Geitoneura minyas : Western Xenica