Yellow-Banded Dart

Fascinating facts about the Yellow-Banded Dart

• The yellow-banded dart is also known as the greenish grass-dart, green grass-dart and southern dart, all referring to the same skipper butterfly. It belongs to the species Ocybadistes walkeri, a member of the skipper group of butterflies. This insect is found across eastern and southern Australia, while one of its subspecies reaches into the Northern Territory.
• Ocybadistes walkeri lives in the eastern and southern parts of Australia, occupying a broad range that includes New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. A single subspecies, Ocybadistes walkeri olivia, extends the species' distribution into the Northern Territory and also occurs in Western Australia.
• The caterpillars of the yellow-banded dart feed on a wide selection of grasses, beginning with Dianella and the model grass Brachypodium distachyon. Their diet also includes common lawn species such as Cynodon dactylon and Erharta erecta, as well as taller grasses like Panicum maximum, Pennisetum clandestinum and Thuarea involuta. By exploiting these diverse host plants, the larvae can thrive in many grassy environments across their range.
• The hypochlora subspecies is restricted to South Australia and is one of three recognised subspecies of Ocybadistes walkeri. It carries the full scientific name Ocybadistes walkeri hypochlora.
• The olivia subspecies occurs in the Northern Territory and also extends into Western Australia, giving the species a foothold beyond its main eastern and southern range. Its complete taxonomic label is Ocybadistes walkeri olivia.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Yellow-Banded Dart

In the sun-drenched clearings of the Australian outback, the Yellow-Banded Dart dances across the landscape with an unbridled joy, its iridescent wings beating at a frenetic pace as it flits from flower to flower. With a delicate touch, it sips nectar from the colorful blooms, its yellow-banded body glistening in the warm light, a vibrant splash of color against the rust-red earth. As it moves, its wings create a mesmerizing blur of motion, a whirlwind of energy and life that is at once captivating and ephemeral.

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