Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore)

Alice Springs Fauna •

Alice Springs ButterfliesBlue Moon Butterfly Caper White Butterfly, Egg and Instar Glasswing (Acraea andromacha) Lesser Wanderer (Danaus petilia) Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore)

The Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) belongs to the Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterfly) family. A small butterfly, approximately 53-64 mm, it is common in grassland land and scrub habitats.

The following selection of photographs were taken in Alice Springs at the local Sewerage Ponds (a popular birding spot) in the Northern Territory.

It is a recent arrival to Australia (Sanderson et al. 2012; Braby et al. 2014; Ham 2020) and since has spread through much of tropical northern and eastern Australia, including semi-arid zones of Queensland (Ham 2020).

Notes on the Tawny Coster Acraea terpsicore (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae) from northern Queensland, author David A. Lane

The wings of the adult butterflies are bright orange, with black spots, the hindwings have a black border with white spots. The males are more deeply coloured than the females. The undersides of the butterfly are similar to the upper surfaces. It has a slow fluttery flight pattern, and is avoided by most insect predators, being protected by a nauseous yellowish fluid is exudes from glands in the joints of the legs. When attacked it will play dead, and its tough exoskeleton, allows it to survive a couple of pecks from birds.

The thorax is black with white spots and have only four developed legs.

---

• Scientific classification
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Subphylum: Hexapoda
• Class: Insecta
• Informal: Pterygotes
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Unranked: Ditrysia
• Superfamily: Papilionoidea
• Family: Nymphalidae
• Subfamily: Heliconiinae
• Tribe: Acraeini
• Genus: Acraea
• Species: Acraea terpsicore

---

---

Alice Springs ButterfliesBlue Moon Butterfly Caper White Butterfly, Egg and Instar Glasswing (Acraea andromacha) Lesser Wanderer (Danaus petilia) Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore)

Alice Springs Butterflies & Moths (Lepidopterans)Butterflies Moths

Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Marsupials Alice Springs Reptiles Alice Springs Spiders

Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander

Alice SpringsAlice Springs Accommodation Alice Springs Pet Friendly Accommodation Alice Springs Art & Culture Alice Springs Attractions Alice Springs Directory Alice Springs Distance Alice Springs Festival & Events Alice Springs Flora and Fauna Alice Springs Fauna Alice Springs Flora Getting Around Alice Springs Alice Springs Aboriginal Tours Alice Springs Tours Alice Springs Tours – Other