''Sabera fuliginosa'', the white-fringed swift, is a
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
of the family
Hesperiidae
Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...
. It is found in Australia along the north-east coast of
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, as well as in
Papua, Indonesia, and
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
is about 40 mm.
The larvae feed on ''
Calamus moti
''Calamus moti'' is a climbing rainforest plant in the palm family Arecaceae, which is endemic to Queensland. It has a slim flexible stem which does not support the plant, instead it climbs to the forest Tropical rainforest#Canopy layer, canopy ...
''. During the day they hide in a shelter created by folding over the edge of a leaf of their host plant and joining it with silk.
Subspecies
*''Sabera fuliginosa fuliginosa'' (Queensland)
*''Sabera fuliginosa chota'' (New Guinea)
External links
The Life History of ''Sabera fuliginosa fuliginosa'' (Miskin) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) and additional hostplants for the other members of the genus in Northern QueenslandAustralian Faunal Directory
Taractrocerini
Butterflies described in 1889
{{Hesperiinae-stub