Candalides helenita

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Candalides helenita
Candalides helenita helenita.jpg
Scientific classification edit
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 family Lycaenidae. 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 , Glochidion ferdinandi, 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[]

  • Candalides helenita helenita (Cape York to Cairns)
  • Candalides helenita dimorpha (Röber, 1886) (Waigeu, Misool, Jobi, West Irian to Papua)

References[]

  1. ^ Australian Faunal Directory
  2. ^ "lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com". Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2011-05-16.


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