White-banded Grassdart

his skipper flies rapidly and close to the ground, sometimes pausing on the leaves of grass tussocks or bare ground. It has a characteristic wing pose at rest, with rear wings held horizontal and fore wings held nearly vertical. Larvae usually feed on actively-growing, soft green grasses and live in a rolled leaf-tube. The final larval stage is 21 mm long, elongate cylindrical, green, head rough, black with a vertical pair of narrow white frontal lines. Pupa to 16 mm, elongate cylindrical with an exposed proboscis, green coloured, with a rough black head, all covered in white water-repellent powder. Occurs on the hostplant in the final larva tube.
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