Philiris sappheira

Philiris sappheira manskiei Ring & Olive, 1997
Sapphire Moonbeam
LUCIINI , THECLINAE , LYCAENIDAE

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

(updated 31 March 2002)

These Caterpillars are green with a cream dorsal line, cream mottling generally, and dense hairy sides. The Caterpillars rests by day under a leaf near the base by a vein, where it is well camouflaged. They feed nocturnally, the foodplant being :

Brown Macaranga ( Macaranga involucrata, EUPHORBIACEAE ).

The pupa is usually attached to the underside of a leaf of its foodplant.

The male adult butterflies are black on top, with a large blue-green iridescent patch on each wing. The females only have the coloured patches on the forewings. Underneath, both sexes are white with black dots around the tornus of each hindwing. They have a wingspan of about 2 cms.

The species occurs as other subspecies in New Guinea, and as manskiei around the McIver River in north Queensland.