Hypolycaena danis

Hypolycaena danis (Felder & Felder, 1865)
(previously known as : Myrina danis)
Black & White Tit
HYPOLYCAENINI , THECLINAE , LYCAENIDAE

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

Hypolycaena danis
(Photo: courtesy of Mark Hopkinson)

This Caterpillar is off-white to reddish green, sometimes with red bands along the body, and is densely covered in short hairs.

(Photo: courtesy of Mark Hopkinson)

It is a pest on Orchids ( ORCHIDACEAE ), feeding on the flowers of, for example, the Australian natives :

Cooktown Orchid ( Dendrobium bigibbum ), and

Teatree Orchid ( Dendrobium canaliculatum ),

as well as exotic orchids from the genera :

Vanda,

Cattleya,

Renanthera,

Phalaenopsis, and

Phalaenanthe.

(Photo: courtesy of Mark Hopkinson)

The pupa is off-white, stout and flattish, held by the tail and central girdle to a stem of the foodplant. It and the caterpillar look remarkably like Orchid flower buds.

(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Entomology)

The adult butterflies have white wings with broad black margins. The margin of each hindwing has a blue edge containing black spots. Each hindwing has two tails at the tornus.

Female
(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis)

Underneath, the wings are similar, except the hindwing pale areas are yellowish. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 3 cms.

hatched eggshell
(Photo: courtesy of Mark Hopkinson)

The eggs are white, spherical, and knobbly. They are typically laid singly on flower petals.

Various subspecies of this butterfly occur in Papua and New Guinea, and the subspecies turneri occurs in north Queensland, including :

Cairns,

Cape York, and

Townsville.