Candalides xanthospilos

Candalides xanthospila (Hubner, [1817])
(one synonym: Rusticus hubnerii)
Yellow Spot Blue
CANDALIDINI , POLYOMMATINAE , LYCAENIDAE

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

Candalides xanthospilos
(Photo: courtesy of Todd Burrows, Blackbutt)

This Caterpillar is green with white hairs, dark green diagonal stripes, and yellow lateral lines. It has a pale brown head. It hides by day, and feeds by night, on:

Queen of the Bush ( Pimelea latifolia ),

Tall Rice Flower ( Pimelea ligustrina ), and

Slender Rice Flower ( Pimelea linifolia ),

all of THYMELAEACEAE.

The pupa is brown with side flanges at both ends. Its length is about 1 cm. It is formed in the leaf debris at the base of the foodplant. It clicks if disturbed.

female
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The adults are brown on top, with the males having a purple sheen. Both sexes have a large yellow patch in the centre of each fore wing.

(Photo: courtesy of Todd Burrows, Blackbutt)

Underneath, they are white with a row of black dots along the wing margins, and usually two dots under the centre of each fore wing, and three dots under each hind wing. The butterflies have a wing span of about 2.5 cms. This is a pretty little butterfly, and they appear to flash as they fly along just above the ground.

The eggs are pale geen, round, flattened, and rough. They are laid singly on flower buds or young shoots of a foodplant.

underside
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The species occurs over the eastern coastal areas of Australia, including:

New South Wales,

Queensland, and

Victoria.