| Queensland Moonbeam LUCIINI, THECLINAE, LYCAENIDAE, PAPILIONOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)
|
| Queensland Moonbeam LUCIINI, THECLINAE, LYCAENIDAE, PAPILIONOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)
These Caterpillars are flat and green, with a cream dorsal line, cream mottling generally, and dense hairy sides.
The caterpillars have been found feeding on :
The caterpillar rests under a leaf near the base by a vein, where it is well camouflaged.
pupa
(Photos: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)
The pupa is green with a reddish dorsal line and brown patches. Its length is about 1 cm. It is usually attached to the underside of a leaf of its foodplant.
The adult malebutterfly of this species has black forewings each with a large blue and white area in the middle The hindwings are black each with a large pale blue and white area.
The females are similar to the males, but with less colour on the hindwings Both sexes are white underneath.
The species is found in:
This species was for many years considered to be a subspecies of Philiris nitens, until the genitalia of the two species were found to be different.
Further reading :
Donald Peter Andrew Sands,
Review of Australian Philiris Röber (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), with notes on variation and descriptions of two new subspecies from Cape York peninsula,
Australian Entomologist,
Volume 42, Part 4 (2015), pp. 219-252.
Gustavus Athol Waterhouse & George Lyell,
The Butterflies of Australia,
Angus & Robertson, 1914, Sydney, p. 77, No. 88b.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(written 7 September 2021, updated 28 December 2023)