Jameela palmyra

Jameela palmyra, the marbled blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in along the coast of Australia (from Queensland to New South Wales), as well as in Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Jameela palmyra
J. p. tasmanicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Jameela
Species:	J. palmyra
Binomial name
Jameela palmyra (Felder, 1860)[1]
Synonyms
Lycaena palmyra Felder, 1860 Erysichton palmyra Nacaduba valentina Grose-Smith, 1895 Nacaduba poecilta Holland, 1900 Nacaduba hyperesia Fruhstorfer, 1916 Nacaduba coelia Grose-Smith, 1894 Nacaduba subvariegata Rothschild, 1915 Lycaena tasmanicus Miskin, 1890 Lycaena elaborata Lucas, 1900

The wingspan is about 20 mm. Adult males are iridescent blue, while females have white forewings with a black tip and a blue base. The hindwings of the female are blue with an arc of brown spots.

The larvae feed on Amyema cambagei and Dendrophthoe vitellina. They are green with a rusty suffusion. Pupation takes place in a pale brown pupa with a dark brown spots.[2]

Subspecies

• J. p. palmyra (Ambon, Serang, Obi, Bachan, Noemfor)
• J. p. clara Tite, 1963 (New Britain)
• J. p. coelia (Grose-Smith, 1894) (Aru, Waigeu, West Irian to Papua New Guinea)
• J. p. lateplaga Tite, 1963 (Solomon Islands: Florida Island, Roviana)
• J. p. tasmanicus (Miskin, 1890) (Tanimbar, Australia: Cape York to Lake Macquarie)

References

1. Erysichton at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
2. Australian Insects