Candalides helenita

Candalides helenita
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Candalides
Species: C. helenita
Binomial name
Candalides helenita
(Semper, [1879])[1]
Synonyms
  • Holochila helenita Semper, [1879]
  • Holochila androdus Miskin, 1890
  • Holochila subargentea Grose-Smith & Kirby, 1896
  • Plebeius dimorphus Röber, 1886

Candalides helenita, the shining pencil-blue, is a species of butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in Australia and Indonesia.[2]

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 host plant.

Subspecies

References


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