Hypochrysops digglesii

Hypochrysops digglesii (Hewitson, 1874)
Diggle's Jewel
LUCIINI , THECLINAE , LYCAENIDAE

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

(updated 9 December 2008)

Hypochrysops digglesii
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

This Caterpillar is dark brown, hairy, and covered in tiny pale dots. It has orange marks on the thorax, and two characteristic pale triangular dorsal patches. It has flattened final abdominal segments. It is always attended by the small black ants :

Acrobat Ants ( Crematogaster, MYRMICINAE ).

(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

By day it hides in a curled leaf or under bark, and at night it emerges to feed. Its foodplant is one of various species of Mistletoe ( LORANTHACEAE ) including :

Gum-leaf Mistletoe ( Amyema bifurcata ),

Box Mistletoe ( Amyema miquelii ),

Christmas Mistletoe ( Amyema sanguinea ),

Dendrophthoe curvata,

Dendrophthoe glabrescens,

Dendrophthoe homoplastica,

Loranthus longiflorus, and

Coast Mistletoe ( Muellerina celastroides ).

(Photos: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

It pupates in a sheltered spot. The pupa is brown with a length of about 1.5 cms.

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

The adults are an iridescent turquoise on top, shading to black at the margins.

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

Underneath, they are pale brown with arcs of brown carets, and under the hindwing : rows of orange spots outlined in black and iridescent green. The butterflies have a wing span of about 3 cms.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The eggs are white and flattened, with a width of about 0.7 mm. They are laid in small groups of one to six on or near a foodplant.

male, underside
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The species occurs in New Guinea and along the east coast of Australia from Cape York to Byron Bay.

(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)