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Description

Species Name: Australian Lurcher

Species Latin Name: Yoma sabina & Yoma Algina

Native To: Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia

Photo Taken At: Melbourne City Zoo

Wingspan: 7cm (2.8 inches)

Sub Species:

Yoma Algina Boisduval

Yoma Algina Algina

Yoma Algina Anak

Yoma Algina Helisson

Yoma Algina Kokobona

Yoma Algina Manusi

Yoma Algina Netonia

Yoma Algina Odilia

Yoma Algina Parvifascia

Yoma Algina Pavonia

Yoma Algina Taurisca

Yoma Algina Vestina

Yoma Algina Viruna

Yoma Algina Vulcanica

Description:

Although this butterfly is non-toxic its way of defending itself is through its mimicry of poisonous animals with its vibrant orange/yellow strip on its wings when viewed from above. From above the butterfly will have black wings with the orange/yellow strip that goes through the middle. When viewed from below the wings will be more grey/brown in colour with the features from the other side of the wings being more muted.

The females are a little larger from the males and the pattern on the females wings will differ slightly to the males. The female wings will have have small dots that are spread along the edges of their wings. The male in comparison will have more of the orange/yellow colouration on the top corner of their wings instead pf the small dots featured on the female wings.

Diet:

These insects during their caterpillar stage will feed from the below plants:

Perennial Forb, or the Low Woody Subshrub (Dipteracanthus Bracteatus)

Ruellias or the Wild Petunias (Ruellia)

Purple Waffle Plant (Hemigraphis Exotica)

Behaviour:

This butterfly can generally be found around the vine thickets near creeks or other moist areas. It appears that the native species of this butterfly is the Yoma Algina. The species of Yoma Sabina is believed to have been derived from a single female specimen collected from Iron Range, in the Cape York Peninsula. Specimens of Yoma Sabina have been kept in Australia since the 1980's. Since this time there has been a lot of confusion between the two species due to how similar they are to one another.

Further Reading (general information):

Wikipedia: Yoma sabina - Wikipedia

Perennial Forb or Low Woody Subshrub Info: Dipteracanthus australasicus subsp. corynothecus - profile | NSW Environment, Energy and Science

Ruellia or Wild Petunias Wiki: Ruellia - Wikipedia

Maegan Oberhardt: All About Australian Lurcher Butterflies — Maegan Oberhardt

Atlas Of Living Australia: Yoma algina | Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au)

The Global Lepidoptera Names Index: Yoma algina Boisduval, 1832 (gbif.org)

Research Gate: (PDF) The status of yoma algina (boisduval, 1832) & y. Sabina (cramer, 1780) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Nymphalinae) in Australia (researchgate.net)

Description

Species Name: Australian Lurcher

Species Latin Name: Yoma sabina & Yoma Algina

Native To: Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia

Photo Taken At: Melbourne City Zoo

Wingspan: 7cm (2.8 inches)

Sub Species:

Yoma Algina Boisduval

Yoma Algina Algina

Yoma Algina Anak

Yoma Algina Helisson

Yoma Algina Kokobona

Yoma Algina Manusi

Yoma Algina Netonia

Yoma Algina Odilia

Yoma Algina Parvifascia

Yoma Algina Pavonia

Yoma Algina Taurisca

Yoma Algina Vestina

Yoma Algina Viruna

Yoma Algina Vulcanica

Description:

Although this butterfly is non-toxic its way of defending itself is through its mimicry of poisonous animals with its vibrant orange/yellow strip on its wings when viewed from above. From above the butterfly will have black wings with the orange/yellow strip that goes through the middle. When viewed from below the wings will be more grey/brown in colour with the features from the other side of the wings being more muted.

The females are a little larger from the males and the pattern on the females wings will differ slightly to the males. The female wings will have have small dots that are spread along the edges of their wings. The male in comparison will have more of the orange/yellow colouration on the top corner of their wings instead pf the small dots featured on the female wings.

Diet:

These insects during their caterpillar stage will feed from the below plants:

Perennial Forb, or the Low Woody Subshrub (Dipteracanthus Bracteatus)

Ruellias or the Wild Petunias (Ruellia)

Purple Waffle Plant (Hemigraphis Exotica)

Behaviour:

This butterfly can generally be found around the vine thickets near creeks or other moist areas. It appears that the native species of this butterfly is the Yoma Algina. The species of Yoma Sabina is believed to have been derived from a single female specimen collected from Iron Range, in the Cape York Peninsula. Specimens of Yoma Sabina have been kept in Australia since the 1980's. Since this time there has been a lot of confusion between the two species due to how similar they are to one another.

Further Reading (general information):

Wikipedia: Yoma sabina - Wikipedia

Perennial Forb or Low Woody Subshrub Info: Dipteracanthus australasicus subsp. corynothecus - profile | NSW Environment, Energy and Science

Ruellia or Wild Petunias Wiki: Ruellia - Wikipedia

Maegan Oberhardt: All About Australian Lurcher Butterflies — Maegan Oberhardt

Atlas Of Living Australia: Yoma algina | Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au)

The Global Lepidoptera Names Index: Yoma algina Boisduval, 1832 (gbif.org)

Research Gate: (PDF) The status of yoma algina (boisduval, 1832) & y. Sabina (cramer, 1780) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Nymphalinae) in Australia (researchgate.net)