Candalides margarita

Candalides margarita
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Candalides
Species:	C. margarita
Binomial name
	Candalides margarita; (Semper, [1879])
Synonyms
	Holochila margarita Semper, [1879]; Candalides maria Bethune-Baker, 1908;

Candalides margarita, or Margarita's blue, is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It was described by Georg Semper in 1879.^[2] It is found in Australia (along the east coast of Queensland and New South Wales) and New Guinea.

The wingspan is about 30 mm. Adult females are black with a large white patch on each wing, and a faint metallic blue suffusion toward the base. Adult males are plain dull blue.

The larvae feed on young shoots and flowers of , , Dendrophthoe vitellina, Muellerina celastroides, Amyema congener, Amyema miquelii, and Benthamina alyxifolia. They are attended by the ant Technomyrmex . The larvae are green, pink or brown. The pupa is attached to a leaf of the host plant by anal hooks and a girdle.^[3]

Subspecies[]

Candalides margarita margarita (Australia: Cape York to Port Macquarie)
Candalides margarita maria Bethune-Baker, 1908 (Aru, Misool, Waigeu, West Irian to Papua)

References[]

^ Savela, Markku (20 November 2018). "Candalides margarita (Semper, [1879])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
^ ^a ^b Semper, Georg (1879). "Beitrag zur Rhopalocerenfauna von Australien". Journal des Museum Godeffroy. 5 (14): 161–162.
^ Herbison-Evans, Don & Crossley, Stella (1 November 2013). "Candalides margarita (Semper, [1879]) Margarita's Blue". Australian Caterpillars and their Butterflies and Moths. Retrieved 15 November 2019.

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[1] Savela, Markku (20 November 2018). "Candalides margarita (Semper, [1879])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 15 November 2019.

[Semper-2] Semper, Georg (1879). "Beitrag zur Rhopalocerenfauna von Australien". Journal des Museum Godeffroy. 5 (14): 161–162.

[3] Herbison-Evans, Don & Crossley, Stella (1 November 2013). "Candalides margarita (Semper, [1879]) Margarita's Blue". Australian Caterpillars and their Butterflies and Moths. Retrieved 15 November 2019.

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