Candalides absimilis

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Candalides absimilis
Male
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Candalides
Species: C. absimilis
Binomial name
Candalides absimilis
(C. Felder, 1862)[1]
Synonyms
  • Holochila absimilis C. Felder, 1862
  • Candalides persimilis Waterhouse, 1942
  • Holochila persimilis
  • Erina persimilis

The Pencilled Blue or Common Pencil-blue (Candalides absimilis) is a species of butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found along the east coast of Australia, including Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Victoria.[2]

The wingspan is about 30 mm. Adult males are grey-blue, while females are brown on top with a large white patch on each wing, and a purple sheen near the hinges. The underside of both sexes is white with rows of fawn carets.

The larvae have been recorded feeding on buds and young shoots of a wide range of plants, including Flagellaria, Macadamia integrifolia, Castanospermum australe, Erythrina, Callerya megasperma, Wisteria, Cassia fistula, Alectryon coriaceus, Brachychiton acerifolius and Cupaniopsis. They are green with a dark dorsal line and diagonal white marks along the sides and a brown head. Pupation takes place in a brown pupa with a length of about 15 mm.

  • Egg

  • Larva

  • Pupa

  • Female resting

  • Illustration of a mounted specimen

References

  1. ↑ Australian Faunal Directory
  2. ↑ lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com
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