Species Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common Evening-brown
Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement
- 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] [31]
- Edwards, E.D. 1996. Nymphalidae. pp. 243-248, 359-360 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [243]
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Extralimital distribution—East Timor, Fiji, Indonesia (Aru Islands, Irian Jaya, Kei Islands, Maluku, West Timor), New Caledonia, New Zealand, Western Samoa, Oriental Region.
IBRA
NSW, NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Arnhem (CA), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)
Other Regions
Lord Howe Island terrestrial & freshwater, Norfolk Island terrestrial & freshwater, Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater
Original AFD Distribution Data
Afrotropical Region
Australian Region
- Australia
- Lord Howe Island
- New South Wales: SE coastal
- Norfolk Island
- Northern Territory: N Gulf, N coastal
- Queensland: Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal
- Western Australia: N coastal
- East Timor
- Fiji
- Indonesia
- Aru Islands
- Irian Jaya
- Kei Islands
- Maluku
- West Timor
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Western Samoa
Oriental Region
Ecological Descriptors
Larva: herbivore (associated flora: Imperata cylindrica (L.) P.Beauv. [POACEAE] Blady Grass; Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walter) Kuntze [POACEAE] Buffalo Grass; Heteropogon triticeus (R.Br.) Stapf ex Craib [POACEAE] Giant Speargrass; Sorghum verticilliflorum (Steud.) Stapf [POACEAE] Wild Sorghum; Chrysopogon sp. [POACEAE]; Leersia hexandra Sw. [POACEAE]; Ophiuros exaltatus (L.) Kuntze [POACEAE]; Melinis minutiflora P.Beauv. [POACEAE]; Pennisetum pedicellatum Trin. [POACEAE]; Saccharum sp. [POACEAE]; Sorghum vulgare Pers. [POACEAE]).
Extra Ecological Information
Introduced plants include Melinis minutiflora, Pennisetum pedicellatum, Saccharum sp., Sorghum verticilliflorum, Sorghum vulgare, Stenotaphrum secundatum (Poaceae).
Details of nominate subspecies, not present in Australia
Melanitis leda leda (Linnaeus, 1758)
Papilio leda Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Edition X, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 824 pp. [474].
Type data: lectotype LS sex not stated*; Linnaeus in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described; Corbet, A.S. 1949. The Linnaean names of Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. Pt 7. Summary of determinations. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 18: 191–199 [196] (type information); Parsons, M.J. 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea; their systematics and biology. San Diego : Academic Press 736 pp. [568] (referred to a holotype).
Subsequent designation: Corbet, A.S. 1942. The Linnaean names of Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. Pt 3. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 11: 91–94 [92] (discussed the Linnaean specimen illustrated by Clerck and concluded that 'this specimen must be taken as the type of leda'); 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. (interpret Corbet's (1942) reference to a type as a lectotype designation (Art. 74, ICZN 1985)).
Type locality: Canton, South-east China (as Asia in original description), see Corbet, A.S. 1942. The Linnaean names of Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. Pt 3. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 11: 91–94 [92] (explained that in Linnaeus' own copy of his book Linnaeus had corrected the locality of Asia by substituting China).
General References
Ackery, P.R., Smith, C.L. & Vane-Wright, R.I. 1995. Carcasson's African Butterflies: an annotated catalogue of the Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea of the Afrotropical Region. East Melbourne : CSIRO Publications xi 803 pp. [Date published 31 December 1995] [281]
D'Abrera, B. 1990. Butterflies of the Australian Region. Melbourne : Hill House 416 pp. [Date published 31-Dec-90] [263]
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07-Mar-2024 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Feb-2023 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 22-Dec-2023 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby (ANU) |
| 13-May-2022 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 26-Feb-2021 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Jun-2020 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Braby |
| 04-Jun-2020 | NYMPHALIDAE Rafinesque, 1815 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 06-Sep-2017 | PAPILIONOIDEA | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 05-Mar-2013 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 30-Mar-2012 | 07-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 05-Apr-2011 | MOVED |