Species Toxidia parvula (Plötz, 1884)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Telesto parvulus Plötz, C. 1884. Die Hesperiinen-Gattung Telesto Boisd., und ihre Arten. Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung 45(10–12): 376-384 [379] [the name parvulus was given to Plötz by Herrich-Schäffer in an unpublished manuscript; Plötz' fig. 790 referred to in the original description was unpublished].

  Type data:

   Status unknown, whereabouts unknown ♂, Australia (as Neu-Holland in original description)
  Comment: Plötz in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described; Evans, W.H. 1949. A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia and Australia in the British Museum (Natural History). London : British Museum xix 502 pp. 53 pls [469] (discussed Plötz' types); 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. (Plötz illustrated all his species but never published the illustrations; some were published in Seitz, A. 1927. The Macrolepidoptera of the World: a systematic description of the hitherto known macrolepidoptera. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Vol. 5, possibly that of parvulus on Pl. 167).

  Type locality references:

  Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Australian Hesperiidae. VII. Notes on the types and type localities. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 62(3–4): 107-125 [108, 116] (discussed Plötz' collection and unpublished drawings and nominated Rockhampton, QLD, as the type locality but without giving a reason); Evans, W.H. 1949. A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia and Australia in the British Museum (Natural History). London : British Museum xix 502 pp. 53 pls. [214] (stated that the type locality was Sydney, NSW, but gave no reasons).
• Hesperilla humilis Miskin, W.H. 1889. Descriptions of some new species of Australian Hesperidae. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 6(4): 146-154 [publication date: Anon. 1889. Royal Society of Queensland. Annual Meeting, 12th July, 1889. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 6: i–xi [iv, vi, x]] [150].

  Type data:

   Lectotype whereabouts unknown ♂, Brisbane, QLD (designated in original description)
  Comment: Miskin in the original description described both sexes.

  Subsequent designation references:

  Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Australian Hesperiidae. VII. Notes on the types and type localities. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 62(3–4): 107-125 [116] (referred to a holotype); 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 [14] (interpreted Waterhouse's (1937) reference to a holotype as a lectotype designation; he could not locate the type material recorded by Waterhouse in ms notes to be in the Queensland Museum).
• Hesperilla ismene Anderson, E. & Spry, F.P. 1894. Victorian Butterflies and How to Collect Them. Part 2. Melbourne : H. Hearne & Co. pp. 79-129. [128] [reference to ismene Newman ms, a nom. nud., was made by Meyrick, E. 1885. An ascent of Mount Kosciusko. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 22: 78–82 [82], Miskin, W.H. 1891. A synonymical catalogue of the Lepidoptera Rhopalocera (Butterflies) of Australia with full bibliographical reference: including descriptions of some new species. Ann. Qd Mus. 1: [i]–xx 1–[93] [i]–ix [81], Watson, E.Y. 1893. A proposed classification of the Hesperiidae, with a revision of the genera. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893(1): 3–132 [publication date: Duncan, F.M. 1937. Dates of publication of the society's Proceedings, 1859–1926. With an appendix containing the dates of publication of "Proceedings" 1830–1858, compiled by the late F.H. Waterhouse, and of the "Transactions", 1833–1869, by the late Henry Peavot, originally published in P.Z.S. 1893, 1913. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London A 107: 71–84] [74], all without description and all without placing it in the synonymy of parvulus; Illidge, R. 1898. List of butterflies of the Brisbane district. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 13: 89–102 [101], Meyrick, E. & Lower, O. 1902. Revision of the Australian Hesperiadae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 26(2): 38–129 [73], Waterhouse, G.A. 1903. Catalogue of the Rhopalocera of Australia. Memoirs of the NSW Naturalists' Club No. 1. iii 49 pp. [42] and Mabille, P. 1904. Lepidoptera Rhopalocera. Family Hesperidae. Genera Insectorum 17b–d: 79–210 [volume dated 1903-1904] [93] all used the name after Anderson & Spry, sometimes as a synonym of parvulus but without recognising Anderson & Spry's description; Lower, O.B. 1911. Revision of the Australian Hesperiadae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 35: 112–172 [125] discussed the name as a manuscript name but did not recognise Anderson & Spry's description; Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Australian Hesperiidae. VII. Notes on the types and type localities. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 62(3–4): 107–125 [116] and Atkins, A.F. & Edwards, E.D. 1996. Hesperiidae. pp. 232–235, 357 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, V.R. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing xiv 529 pp. [234] recognised Anderson & Spry's description; Meyrick, E. 1885. An ascent of Mount Kosciusko. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 22: 78–82 [82] described Telesto drachmophora "Form of ismene"; 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. Meyrick's comment in describing Telesto drachmophora "Form of ismene" could be construed as regarding drachmophora as a form of ismene but what Meyrick intended was to state that the two had the same shape].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown sex unknown, Healesville, Nar-Nar-Goon and Lake Tyers, VIC (recorded in original description)
  Comment: Anderson & Spry indicated in the original description that they had both sexes.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Evans, W.H. 1949. A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia and Australia in the British Museum (Natural History). London : British Museum xix 502 pp. 53 pls. [214]

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Kuranda, QLD, and from Mackay, QLD, to SE VIC.

Australian Endemic.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

ACT, NSW, Qld, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Wet Tropics (WT)

Ecological Descriptors

Larva: herbivore.

Extra Ecological Information

Larval food plants, Poaceae.

General References

Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xiv 682 pp. 49 pls. [139] (as Toxidia parvula, biology)

Waterhouse, G.A. 1903. Catalogue of the Rhopalocera of Australia. Memoirs of the NSW Naturalists' Club No. 1. iii 49 pp. [42] (synonymy)

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] [193] (as Toxidia parvula, description)

History of changes