''Telicota mesoptis'', also known as the narrow-brand darter, 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 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 ...

(the northern Gulf and north-eastern 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_ ...

), the Aru Islands, Irian Jaya, the

Kei Islands The Kai Islands (also Kei Islands) of Indonesia are a group of islands in the southeastern part of the Maluku Islands, located in the province of Maluku. The Moluccas have been known as the Spice Islands due to regionally specific plants such ...

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 ...

. These butterflies have an average

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 ...

of about 30 mm. The larvae feed on '' Panicum maximum'' and ''

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 ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Telicota mesoptis mesoptis'' (Lower, 1911) – Lower's grass dart or Lower's darter (northern Gulf and north-eastern coast of Queensland, the Aru Islands, the Kei Islands)

External links

Australian Faunal Directory
Taractrocerini Butterflies described in 1911 {{Hesperiinae-stub