Erina delospila (Waterhouse, 1903)
Spotted Dusky-blue
(formerly known as Candalides delospila)
CANDALIDINI,   POLYOMMATINAE,   LYCAENIDAE,   PAPILIONOIDEA
  
Don Herbison-Evans
( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Erina delospila
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph, listed as Zetona delospila)

This Caterpillar is green with brown hairs, and has a narrow red dorsal line edged in white and further edged in purple. The caterpillar feeds nocturnally on plants in LAURACEAE including:

  • Love Vine ( Cassytha filiformis ), and
  • Slender Devil's Twine ( Cassytha glabella ).

    By day the caterpillar hides in adjacent vegetation. The caterpillar grows to a length of about 1 cm.

    The pupa is pale yellow with black spots, and has a length of about 1 cm. It is formed attached to a nearby plant or in a curled leaf on the ground.

    The adult butterflies are brown on top, with the males having a purple tinge. Underneath, both sexes are white with black spots and a darker shading toward the margin. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 2 cms.

    Erina delospila
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Deane Lewis, taken in Winton area, Queensland)

    The eggs are pale grey, round, flattened, and pitted, with a diameter of about 0.5 mm. They are laid singly on buds and young shoots of a foodplant.

    The species occurs in

  • Western Australia, especially near the Ord River,
  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.


    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 770-771.

    Gustavus Athol Waterhouse,
    Australian Rhopalocera: Lycaenidae 3,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Volume 28, Part 1 (1903), pp. 211-212, and also Plate 2, fig. 5.


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    (updated 6 May 2002, 3 November 2018, 6 July 2020, 6 March 2021)