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Orange Ringlet - Hypocysta adiante
FAMILY NYMPHALIDAE
This page contains information and pictures about Orange Ringlet Butterflies in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Mating pair, wingspan 30mm
- Orange Ringlet Butterflies are small butterflies. They fly slowly close to the ground. They are bright orange colour when flying under sun light. The butterflies like to rest on dry leaves on ground.
- The forewings of the butterflies are plain orange-brown with dark brown the margins. The colour may vary slightly from individual. On the bottom side, the butterfly has two eye-spots on each hind wings. The top side has only one eye-spots.
- We found quite a number of them near Alexandra Hill along the creek in summer season.
- There are the eye-spot patterns on the bottom side of hind wings. They eye-sports are circled with silvery ring.
The Caterpillar Food Plants
- Kangaroo grass - Orange Ringlet Butterfly caterpillar food plants.
- Themeda triandra, family Poaeace
- The caterpillar has a pair of pointed lateral horns, feeds on grasses, includes Kangaroo grass.
- Kangaroo grass is common in Brisbane grassland. It is the clumping grass with short bluish leaves, reddish in winter, flowers and seed heads grow to one meter in summer. It is the host plants of Orange Ringlet, Common Brown and Evening Brown Butterfly.
Why Eye-spot pattern ?
- In the second picture, the eye-spot patterns of this Orange Ringlet Butterfly is loss completely. Those missing eye-spots may have saved its life.
- Eye spot patterns are common in butterflies. Many species have this pattern on top side, underneath or both side of their front and hind wings. Those spot help the butterflies to survive in two ways.
- Some butterflies have two big eye spots on their hind wings. When they are at rest, they cover the eye spots by the front wings. When a predator come close, the butterfly will suddenly show the eye spots, to scare them away.
- Some other butterflies, as this Orange Ringlet, have only small eyespots. Usually those spots are on the edge of their wings, the less critical part of their body. Those spot are used to puzzle the predator to use it as target. If being attached, the butterfly just loss a small bit of wing edge and fly away. Sometimes we find a butterfly with a small triangular price of wing is missing, just like being bitten off by a bird.
