''Suniana sunias'' is a butterfly 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

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

( Papua, Maluku),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and

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_ ...

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 ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

. 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 25 mm. The larvae feed on ''

Sorghum verticilliflorum ''Sorghum arundinaceum'', the common wild sorghum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae. It is native to SubSaharan Africa, Madagascar, many of the Indian Ocean islands, and the Indian Subcontinent, and has been introduced to nor ...

'', '' Paspalum urvillei'', '' Panicum maximum'', ''

Leersia hexandra ''Leersia hexandra'' is a species of grass known by the common names southern cutgrass, clubhead cutgrass, and swamp rice grass.

'' and other ''

Leersia ''Leersia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family which includes species known generally as cutgrasses. The genus is widespread across many countries on all the inhabited continents. It was named for the German botanist Johann Daniel Leers ...

'' species. They rest in a shelter made from blades of their host plant joined with silk.

Subspecies

*''Suniana sunias sunias'' (Indonesia) - wide-brand grass-dart *''Suniana sunias rectivitta'' (Mabille, 1878) (New South Wales, Queensland) *''Suniana sunias sauda'' Waterhouse, 1937 (Northern Territory) - orange dart *''Suniana sunias tanus'' (Plötz, 1885) (New Guinea) *''Suniana sunias nihana'' (Fruhstorfer, 1910)

External links

Australian InsectsAustralian Faunal Directory
Hesperiinae Butterflies described in 1860 {{hesperiinae-stub