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Australian Wildlife

  Regent Skipper (Euschemon rafflesia)





Regent Skipper | Euschemon rafflesia photo
Regent Skipper

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REGENT SKIPPER FACTS

Identification
The adult Regent Skipper butterfly has black upper side with yellow markings and greenish underside with yellow markings. The body is black with thin white bands, and bright red tip. The caterpillars are green with a white edged black stripe along the body. The head is black and the "neck" is yellow with two horns and the end of the abdomen is yellow. The pupa is white with small black spots.

Size
wingspan 54mm to 61mm

Habitat
tropical an subtropical rainforest

Food
The caterpillars feed at night on various plants in the Monimiaceae family including Tetrasynandra laxiflora, Tetrasynandra pubescens, Wilkiea huegeliana, Wilkiea macrophylla.

Breeding
The Regent Skipper lays spherical ribbed eggs singly on the underside of a food plant leaf. The Caterpillars shelter in a retreat made of two leaves joined by silk.

Range
The Regent Skipper is found in eastern coastal Queensland and New South Wales. There are two subspecies - one in far north Queensland around Cooktown, and another in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.



Classification
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Family:Hesperiidae
Genus:Euschemon
Species:rafflesia
Common Name:Regent Skipper