Hypochrysops pythias

Hypochrysops pythias C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865
Peacock Jewel
(one synonym is Miletus meleagris Waterhouse,1903)
LUCIINI , THECLINAE , LYCAENIDAE

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

(updated 13 June 2008)

Hypochrysops pythias
first instar
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

This Caterpillar initially is green with a white line down the back, white flecks on the body, and has dense hairs along the sides.

final instar
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

Later instars are brown. The Caterpillar feeds nocturnally on the upper surface of a leaf, and hides by day under a leaf. It can feed on :

Brown Kurrajong ( Commersonia bartramia, STERCULIACEAE ), and

Whitfield Ash ( Trichospermum pleiostigma, TILIACEAE ).

pupa
(Photos: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The pupa is brown with dark spots, and has a length just over 1 cm. It is formed in a curled leaf in the debris near the base of a foodplant.

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

The adults are an iridescent purple on top.

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

The female has broad black margins.

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

Underneath, they are pale brown with rows of orange spots outlined in black and iridescent green.

Female, underside

(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The butterflies have a wing span of about 3 cms.

The eggs are laid singly under a leaf of a foodplant.

The species occurs mainly in New Guinea, and the subspecies euclides is found in a small region of the north-east coast of Australia near Tully.