Parnara amalia

Parnara amalia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Tribe: Baorini
Genus: Parnara
Species: P. amalia
Binomial name
Parnara amalia
(Semper, [1879])
Synonyms
  • Hesperilla fulgidus Miskin, 1889
  • Pamphila amalia Semper, [1879]

Parnara amalia is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae the skippers. Its common names include Hyaline Swift and Orange Swift. It occurs in Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea, as well as the Australian states of New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and Queensland.[1]

The butterfly has a wingspan of about 30 millimeters. It is dark brown with an orange tinge, and paler on the underside. There several translucent whitish spots on the wings.[2]

The larva feeds on grasses, including the common rice plant, Oryza sativa, and southern cutgrass (Leersia hexandra). This butterfly may play a role in the pollination of the cashew.[2]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parnara amalia.
  1. Parnara amalia. Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study. Department of the Environment, Australia.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Parnara amalia. Butterflies of Australia.