Nacaduba cyanea, the tailed green-banded line-blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, and formerly considered a member of the genus Danis. It is found in the Indonesia (Irian Jaya, Maluku), Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia (Queensland).[2]

Nacaduba cyanea
Daintree Rainforest, Queensland
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Nacaduba
Species:
N. cyanea
Binomial name
Nacaduba cyanea
(Cramer, [1775])[1]
Subspecies

See text

Synonyms
  • Papilio cyanea Cramer, [1775]
  • Damis epicoritus Boisduval, 1832
  • Thysonotis cyanea arinides Fruhstorfer, 1915
  • Lycaena (Thysonotis) sperchius C. & R. Felder, 1860
  • Thysonotis sperchius C. & R. Felder, [1865]
  • Lycaena pindus C. & R. Felder, [1865]
  • Cupido arinia Oberthür, 1878
  • Danis albastola Lucas, 1889
  • Plebeius illustris Röber, 1886
  • Thysonotis chromia Druce, 1891
  • Thysonotis smaragdus Druce & Bethune-Baker, 1893
  • Thysonotis hamilcar Grose-Smith, 1894
  • Thysonotis hamilcar ab. intermedius Ribbe, 1899
  • Thysonotis hamilcar var. pseudochromia Ribbe, 1899
  • Thysonotis rosselana Bethune-Baker, 1908

The wingspan is about 30 mm. Adult males are blue with a dark brown wing margin, with a pale blue to white patch on the hindwing. Females are white, with a black border around the wings and a row of blue-edged black spots.[3]

The larvae feed on Entada phaseoloides and Entada scandens. They are bright green, with pale brown heads. The larvae are attended to by ants of the genus Anonychomyrma. Pupation takes place in a brown pupa with dark markings.

Subspecies edit

  • N. c. arinia (Oberthür, 1878) (Torres Straits Islands, Cooktown to Ingham) - tailed green-banded blue
  • N. c. carissima (Grose-Smith & Kirby, 1895) (Flores, Pura, Tanimbar, Timor)
  • N. c. chromia (Druce, 1891) (northern Solomons)
  • N. c. cyanea (Cramer, 1775) (Ambon, Seram)
  • N. c. epicoritus (Boisduval, 1832) (Aru, Gebe, New Guinea, Waigeo)
  • N. c. hamilcar (Grose-Smith, 1894) (Admiralty Islands, Bismarck Archipelago)
  • N. c. illustris (Röber, 1886) (Kai Islands)
  • N. c. murua (Tennent, 2015)[4] (Woodlark Island)
  • N. c. obiana (Fruhstorfer, 1915) (Obi)
  • N. c. pindus (C. & R. Felder, [1865]) (Bacan, Halmahera, Morotai, Ternate, Salawati)
  • N. c. rosselana (Bethune-Baker, 1908) (Louisade Archipelago)
  • N. c. sanane (Tennent & Gassó Miracle, 2016)[5] (Buru)
  • N. c. smaragdus (Druce & Bethune-Baker, 1893) (Dammer, Wetar)

References edit

  1. ^ Nacaduba, funet.fi
  2. ^ Australian Faunal Directory
  3. ^ Australian Insects
  4. ^ Tennent, W. J. (2015). "A new subspecies of Nacaduba cyanea (Cramer, 1775) from Woodlark Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)" Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 36 (4): 219-220.
  5. ^ Tennent, W. J. & Gassó Miracle, M. E. (2016). "A new subspecies of Nacaduba cyanea Cramer, 1775, from Buru, Maluku, Indonesia (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)" Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 159 (2): 81-88.