Pithecops dionisius (Boisduval, 1832)
Pied Blue
 (formerly known as Erosia semibrunnea)
POLYOMMATINI,   POLYOMMATINAE,   LYCAENIDAE,   PAPILIONOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

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

The Caterpillars of this species are thought to feed on :

  • Tick Clover ( Desmodium species, FABACEAE ).

    The adult butterflies on top are black with a large white patch on each wing. Underneath they are white with a black edge, and a black spot near the base of each hindwing costa. The sexes are very similar in appearance. The wingspan is about 3 cms.

    This species is found as various subspecies across south-west Pacific, including

  • New Guinea, and
  • Solomons.

    The subspecies dionisius is found in Australia in

  • north Queensland and adjacent islands.

    Further reading :

    Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Dechauffour de Boisduval,
    in M.J. Dumont d'Urville: Faune Entomologique de L'Ocean Pacifique,
    Voyage de Decouvertes de la Corvette l'Astrolabe,
    Division 7, Part 1 : Lepidopteres (1832), pp. 82-83, No. 11.

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, p. 845.

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    (updated 22 June 2002, 15 September 2017, 7 August 2020)