Hypochrysops cyane

Hypochrysops cyane (Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914)
Cyane Jewel
(previously known as Miletus cyane)
LUCIINI, THECLINAE, LYCAENIDAE, PAPILIONOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hypochrysops cyane
brown form
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

These Caterpillars are green or brown with a dark brown band along the back, and sparse white hairs along the sides.

(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The caterpillars are attended always by the small black ants from DOLICHODERINAE such as

Anonychomyrma itinerans, or

Anonychomyrma gilberti,

which typically nest on the same tree that the caterpillars are on.

green form
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The caterpillars have been found feeding on the foliage of a variety of plants, including :

Island Afara ( Terminalia subacroptera, COMBRETACEAE ),

Box Mistletoe ( Amyema miquelii, LORANTHACEAE ),

Wet Wattle ( Acacia humifusa, MIMOSACEAE ),

Sydney Red Gum ( Angophora costata, MYRTACEAE ), and

False Dogwood ( Alphitonia pomaderroides, RHAMNACEAE ).

EArly instars feed communally and sketetonisethe leaves. Later the caterpillars separate and feed on the leaves nocturnally. By day: the caterpillars hide in crevices on the tree.

(Photos: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

They pupate in a nest of their attendant ants. The pupa is mottled brown, and has a length of about 1.3 cms.

male
(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences)

The adult male butterflies on top are purple and the females blue. The females also have a large black area at the tips of each forewing.

female
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

Underneath, both sexes are pale brown with arcs of orange dashes outlined in metallic green. The undersides of the forewings also each have two or three black spots. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 3 cms.

showing underside
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The caterpillars hatch from small clusters of white spherical minutely spined eggs, laid on leaves, stalks, or bark of a foodplant.

This species is found in

Queensland, and

New South Wales.