Candalides helenita
Encyclopedia
The Shining Pencil-blue (Candalides helenita) is a species of butterfly
of the Lycaenidae
family. It is found in Australia
and Indonesia
.
The wingspan
is about 30 mm. Adults males are blue with a narrow black margin around each wing. The females are dark brown with a white patch on each wing. The underside of both sexes is white with a few dark dots around the hindwing margins.
The larvae have been recorded feeding on the young foliage of Arytera pauciflora, Glochidion ferdinandi
, Cryptocarya hypospodia and Brachychiton acerifolium. They are green to brown with a pale brown head. Pupation takes place in a brown pupa which is formed in a curled leaf at the bottom of the hostplant.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family. It is found in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 30 mm. Adults males are blue with a narrow black margin around each wing. The females are dark brown with a white patch on each wing. The underside of both sexes is white with a few dark dots around the hindwing margins.
The larvae have been recorded feeding on the young foliage of Arytera pauciflora, Glochidion ferdinandi
Glochidion ferdinandi
Glochidion ferdinandi, commonly known as the cheese tree, is a species of tree in the Phyllanthaceae family. It is native to eastern Australia, where it grows in rainforests and wetter sclerophyll forests...
, Cryptocarya hypospodia and Brachychiton acerifolium. They are green to brown with a pale brown head. Pupation takes place in a brown pupa which is formed in a curled leaf at the bottom of the hostplant.
Subspecies
- Candalides helenita helenita (Cape York to Cairns)
- Candalides helenita dimorpha (Röber, 1886) (Waigeu, Misool, Jobi, West Irian to Papua)