Species Erina acasta (Cox, 1873)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Lycaena acasta Cox, H.R. 1873. Entomological notes from South Australia. The Entomologist 6: 401-402 [402].

  Type data:

   Lectotype BMNH ♂, Bremer Ranges, near Kanmantoo, SA (designated in original description)
  Comment: Cox in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described; Waterhouse, G.A. 1936. [unpublished personal manuscript of observations made at the BMNH (Lycaenidae)]. Photocopy located at ANIC, Canberra, ACT. 92 pp. [33] (mentioned a male and a female with Cox's label data in the BMNH).
• Holochila anita Semper, G. 1879. Beitrag zur Rhopalocerenfauna von Australien. Journal des Museum Godeffroy, Hamburg V(14): 138-194 pls 8, 9 [dated 1878] [163].

  Type data:

   Lectotype BMNH ♂, Cape York, QLD (Semper originally gave Cape York and Sydney)
  Comment: Semper in the original description mentioned both sexes.

  Type locality references:

  Gabriel, A.G. 1932. Catalogue of the Type Specimens of the Lepidoptera Rhopalocera in the Hill Museum. London : John Bale, Sons & Danielsson 40 pp. [31] (also gave the type locality as Cape York, QLD); Edwards, E.D., Newland, J. & Regan, L. 2001. Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea. In Wells, A. & Houston, W.W.K. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 31.6. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. x 615 pp. (the species is not known from Cape York in recent times and the locality given by Semper is certainly incorrect).
• Lycaena moerens Rosenstock, R. 1885. Notes on Australian Lepidoptera, with descriptions of new species. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 5 16: 376-385, 421-443 [377].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH ♀ (Rosenstock stated in the introduction to the original description that he had a single specimen), Southern Australia (Rosenstock gave South Australia in original paper but he intended southern Australia; specimen came from T.P. Lucas of Melbourne).

  Type locality references:

  Waterhouse, G.A. 1936. [unpublished personal manuscript of observations made at the BMNH (Lycaenidae)]. Photocopy located at ANIC, Canberra, ACT. 92 pp. [27, 33] (gave sex of holotype and corrected Rosenstock's locality to southern Australia); Couchman, L.E. 1956. A catalogue of the Tasmanian Lepidoptera-Rhopalocera. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 90: 1-33 [11] (gave Melbourne, VIC, as the type locality).
• Lycaena canescens Miskin, W.H. 1890. Descriptions of hitherto undescribed Australian Lepidoptera (Rhopalocera) principally Lycaenidae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2 5(1): 29-43 [publication date: Anon. 1929. List showing dates of publication of parts of the Proceedings for each year. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. Index to vols 1–50 (1875–1925)] [35].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) QM T12412 1♂, Tasmania (designated in original description)
  Comment: Miskin in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described; Hancock, D.L. 1995. The butterfly types of W. H. Miskin in the Queensland Museum (Lepidoptera). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 38(2): 519–528 [524] (referred to a single syntype and gave sex and label information).

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Druce, H.H. 1902. On some new and little-known butterflies of the family Lycaenidae from the African, Australian and Oriental Regions. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1902(1): 112-121 pls 11, 12 [120] (synonymy of moerens and anita)
• Waterhouse, G.A. 1903. Notes on Australian Rhopalocera: Lycaenidae. Part III—Revisional. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 28(1): 132-275, pls 1-3 [186] (synonymy of canescens and acasta and the synoymy of anita and acasta)

 

Generic Combinations

• Erina acasta (Cox, 1873).

 

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones

IBRA

ACT, NSW, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Ben Lomond (BEL), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Carnarvon (CAR), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), King (KIN), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, NE coastal
  • South Australia: Murray-Darling basin, S Gulfs, SE coastal
  • Tasmania
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Western Australia: NW coastal, SW coastal

Ecological Descriptors

Larva: herbivore (associated flora: Cassytha filiformis L. [LAURACEAE]; Cassytha glabella R.Br. [LAURACEAE]; Cassytha peninsularis J.Z.Weber [LAURACEAE]; Cassytha pubescens R.Br. [LAURACEAE]).

 

General References

Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xiv 682 pp. 49 pls. [536]

Couchman, L.E. 1956. A catalogue of the Tasmanian Lepidoptera-Rhopalocera. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 90: 1-33 [11]

Edwards E.D. & Kerr J.F.R. 1978. A new species of Candalides from Eastern Australia and notes on Candalides hyacinthinus (Semper) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Australian Entomological Magazine 4(5): 81-90 [Date published February 1978] [82]

Fisher, R.H. 1978. Butterflies of South Australia (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea). Adelaide : South Australian Government. Handbooks Series 272 pp. [234] (biology)

Tite, G.E. 1963. A revision of the genus Candalides and allied genera (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 14(5): 197-259 4 pls [217]

Waterhouse, G.A. 1903. Notes on Australian Rhopalocera: Lycaenidae. Part III—Revisional. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 28(1): 132-275, pls 1-3 [186]

Waterhouse, G.A. & Lyell, G. 1914. The Butterflies of Australia: a monograph of the Australian Rhopalocera introducing a complete scheme of structural classification, and giving descriptions and illustrations of all the butterflies found in Australia, including a number now recorded for the first time. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 239 pp. 38 pls + 3 unnumbered colour pls. [Date published 25 July 1914] [81]

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
07-Mar-2024	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby
04-Feb-2023	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby (ANU)
13-May-2022	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby
26-Feb-2021	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby
04-Jun-2020	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Michael Braby
02-Feb-2018	Candalidini	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
04-Jun-2020	LYCAENIDAE Leach, 1815	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
06-Sep-2017	PAPILIONOIDEA	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
06-Sep-2017	LYCAENIDAE	20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED	Dr Federica Turco (QM)
05-Mar-2013		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
30-Mar-2012		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
28-Mar-2012		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED
		20-Jun-2024	MODIFIED