FAMILY NAME: Pieridae SUB FAMILY: Coliadinae GENUS/SPECIES: Eurema hecabe SUB SPECIES: brevicostatis, kerawara, luzoniensis, mandarina, nivaria, oeta.
COMMON NAMES: Large Grass Yellow or Common Sulphur
SIZE: Wingspan approx 40mm or 1.5", and a body length about 30mm or 1.2".
LOCATION: As various sub-species they are found in India, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand and throughout Australia, except in Vic. and Tas.
LIFE CYCLE:
- The Larvae are initially a uniform green colour, and develop yellow stipes along each side, bordered with white. They grow to about 40mm or 1.5" in length.
- The Pupae are green with a pointed head, and about 2cm in length. They will be found attached to a stem of the host plant.
- The Adult Butterfly has yellow forewings with black tips and narrow black border on the upperside. The hindwings have a narrow black border. The underside of both pair of wings are a paler yellow with irregular brown markings and no border.
HOST PLANTS:
- Glossy Shower (Senna surattensis)
- Wilgar (Breynia oblongifolia)
- Long-stalked Phyllanthus (Phyllanthus tenellus)
- Australian Indigo (Indigofera australis)
- Yellow Pea Bush (Sesbania cannabina)
- Glory Wattle (Acacia spectabilis)
- Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin)
- Wild Tamarind (Leucaena leucocephala)
GENERAL: These butterflies are fast flyers and are often seen flying around grassy areas. It is unclear why they do this as their larvae do not feed on grass. The size and colour of these butterflies varies during the season, as the rainfall and temperature change.
