Suniana sunias
Encyclopedia
The Wide-brand Grass-dart (Suniana sunias sunias) or Orange Dart (Suniana sunias sauda) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in Indonesia
(Irian Jaya, Maluku), Australia
(New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland), Papua New Guinea
and the Solomon Islands
.
The wingspan
is about 25 mm.
The larvae feed on Sorghum verticilliflorum, Paspalum urvillei
, Panicum maximum, Leersia hexandra and other Leersia
species. They rest in a shelter made from blades of their host plant joined with silk.
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
(Irian Jaya, Maluku), 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...
(New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland), Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
.
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 25 mm.
The larvae feed on Sorghum verticilliflorum, Paspalum urvillei
Paspalum urvillei
Paspalum urvillei is a species of grass known by the common name Vasey's grass, or Vaseygrass. It is native to South America, and it is known in parts of North America as an introduced species. It is a noxious weed where it has been introduced in Hawaii and New Caledonia. It grows well in disturbed...
, Panicum maximum, Leersia hexandra and other Leersia
Leersia
Leersia is a genus of true grasses which includes species known generally as cutgrasses. There are about 17 species native to tropical and warm temperate areas of the Americas and Eurasia...
species. They rest in a shelter made from blades of their host plant joined with silk.
Subspecies
- Suniana sunias sunias (Indonesia)
- Suniana sunias rectivitta (Mabille, 1878) (New South Wales, Queensland)
- Suniana sunias sauda Waterhouse, 1937 (Northern Territory)
- Suniana sunias tanus (Plötz, 1885) (New Guinea)
- Suniana sunias nihana (Fruhstorfer, 1910)