Hypocysta angustata
Encyclopedia
The Black and White Ringlet or Pied Ringlet (Hypocysta angustata) is a species of butterfly
of the Nymphalidae
family. It is found on the Cape York Peninsula
in Australia
and in the rainforests of New Guinea
.
The wingspan
is about 30 mm. Adults have black forewings with a white patch. The hindwings are white with a black border and a pair of eyespots. The underside of the wings are similar, but there are three eyespots on the hindwings.
The larvae feed on various Poaceae
species, including Tetrarrhena species. They are dark green with a forked tail and a brown head with orange horns. Full-grown larvae are about 15 mm long. Pupation takes place in a brown pupa with dark markings which is attached to the food plant.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Nymphalidae
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...
family. It is found on the Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and in the rainforests of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 30 mm. Adults have black forewings with a white patch. The hindwings are white with a black border and a pair of eyespots. The underside of the wings are similar, but there are three eyespots on the hindwings.
The larvae feed on various Poaceae
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
species, including Tetrarrhena species. They are dark green with a forked tail and a brown head with orange horns. Full-grown larvae are about 15 mm long. Pupation takes place in a brown pupa with dark markings which is attached to the food plant.