Wattle Blue Butterfly (female)

Description:

The Wattle Blue is only a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 20 mm., and has two eye-spots and a tail on each hind wing. Adults have a pale blue upperside with chequered margins, but females also have a broad black band around the margins. They also have an arc of white scalloped markings on the hindwings. The underside of the wings is fawn with several white markings. The larvae are dark green or brown with a dark dorsal band and pale diagonal streaks.

Habitat:

Naturally occurs in Queensland. This spotting was in a backyard in the Lockyer Valley township of Laidley.

Notes:

Until yesterday I had never seen this species of butterfly before, but today, an hours drive out of Brisbane, I find my second specimen. Here's my first - http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/383... This new spotting is much darker than the specimen I found yesterday.