Dark Pencil-blue Candalides consimilis consimilis
Wingspan: 29 - 30mm
Distribution: Fragmented range from Iron Range NP, CYP., then from Kuranda, FNQ to Kiama, southern NSW and finally from the ACT to central Victoria.
Sighted Claire Cottage: Sept - Oct
There are three subspecies;
Candalides consimilis toza is restricted to Iron Range NP, CYP. (Pascoe River, to north, Rocky River to south).
Candalides consimilis consimilis ranges from Cooktown,CYP to Kiama, southern NSW
Candalides consimilis goodingi ranges from the mountains of the ACT, NSW Southern Tablelands and the eastern half of Victoria.
Status Claire Cottage: rare,
Status Dorrigo Plateau: thought to be rare
NOTE: Similar species: The Trident Pencil-blue Candalides margarita and the Glistening Pencil-blue Candalides absililis.
Note: There has been a 'common name' change from Pencilled-blue to Pencil-blue for 5 Blues in the 2nd Edition of Michael F. Braby's 'The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia' 2016.
Wingspan: 29 - 30mm
Distribution: Fragmented range from Iron Range NP, CYP., then from Kuranda, FNQ to Kiama, southern NSW and finally from the ACT to central Victoria.
Sighted Claire Cottage: Sept - Oct
There are three subspecies;
Candalides consimilis toza is restricted to Iron Range NP, CYP. (Pascoe River, to north, Rocky River to south).
Candalides consimilis consimilis ranges from Cooktown,CYP to Kiama, southern NSW
Candalides consimilis goodingi ranges from the mountains of the ACT, NSW Southern Tablelands and the eastern half of Victoria.
Status Claire Cottage: rare,
Status Dorrigo Plateau: thought to be rare
NOTE: Similar species: The Trident Pencil-blue Candalides margarita and the Glistening Pencil-blue Candalides absililis.
Note: There has been a 'common name' change from Pencilled-blue to Pencil-blue for 5 Blues in the 2nd Edition of Michael F. Braby's 'The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia' 2016.
Female Dark Pencil-blue who, in a period of drought, came to drink water from a brief hosing in our court-yard September 29th 2017.
Underside of the above female. You can see her tongue dipping into water on the leaf Sept 29th 2017.
Another view of the same female with no sign of the variable hind wing whitish central patch found more prominently in both the Trident and Glistening Pencil Blues Sept 29th 2017
Dark Pencil-blue Candalides consimilis Claire Cottage Dorrigo NSW, 18 Jan 2019 2.17 pm
This very battered male C. consimilis is feeding on Parsonsia straminea flowers, Claire Cottage, Dorrigo Plateau, 8 Mar 2019 .
A female C. consimilis, Cathedral Rocks NP, 4th Dec 2014, 9.46 am (Id confirmed by Kelvyn Dunn)
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C. consimilis showing more upperside, Cathedral Rocks NP, 4th Dec 2014, 9.45 am (Id confirmed by Kelvyn Dunn)
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Candalides consimilis female, Cathedral Rocks NP, 2nd Dec 2014, 3.13 pm - all Dec 2014 photos taken with specimens perched on exotic blackberry, Rubus fruticosus.
Dark Pencil-blue Candalides consimilis consimilis
Wingspan: 29 - 30mm
Distribution: Fragmented range from Iron Range NP, CYP., then from Kuranda, FNQ to Kiama, southern NSW and finally from the ACT to central Victoria.
Sighted: Sep - Jan
There are three subspecies Candalides consimilis toza is restricted to Iron Range NP, CYP, Candalides consimilis consimilis ranges from Kuranda, FNQ to Kiama, southern NSW and Candalides consimilis goodingi ranges from the mountains of the ACT, NSW Southern Tablelands and the eastern half of Victoria
Butterfly Sightings:
Larva Sightings: (Note: Larvae not attended by ants).
Larval food plants: (the flower buds and flowers of)
Breeding season on the Dorrigo Plateau: Thought to be September to March
Flight habit: Thought to be mid morning to mid afternoon.
Habitat where found at Claire Cottage: Rainforest edge - subtropical and warm temperate RF.
Thought to be breeding at Claire Cottage: Yes
Identification note for Pencil-blues:
There is a high degree of difficulty in identifying the three Pencil-blues - Glistening, Dark & Trident. The Dark however has a smaller white spot on its hindwing in upperwing images, underwing images are even more difficult and a degree of uncertainty always remains.
Identification Confirmation: (for the 3 Sept 2017 images)
Darren Moffatt and Trevor Lambkin have both agreed with my identification here - Oct 2017.
Kelvyn Dunn confirmed my identification of the Cathedral Rocks butterflies - Dec 2014.
Trevor (L) comments; Yes it is C. consimilis consimilis, the telltale hindwing white spot that is overlaid with blue scales confirms the ID. In addition, I am pretty sure that this is the only Candalides species, like this one, that you would get at your elevation (800 metres), i.e. above around 300 metres. The hindwing above is too dusted with blue and the forewing spot is not round terminally, which matches consimilis. I have compared them with my specimens and although it is a beautiful specimen (better than mine in my collection) the underside spots agree with consimilis. Field photographed specimens of the cryptic ones are always difficult to identify from a photo.
Flight habit: Throughout the day.
First warm season sighting - Claire Cottage: 27/11/2016
Last warm season sighting - Claire Cottage: 08/03/2019
Wingspan: 29 - 30mm
Distribution: Fragmented range from Iron Range NP, CYP., then from Kuranda, FNQ to Kiama, southern NSW and finally from the ACT to central Victoria.
Sighted: Sep - Jan
There are three subspecies Candalides consimilis toza is restricted to Iron Range NP, CYP, Candalides consimilis consimilis ranges from Kuranda, FNQ to Kiama, southern NSW and Candalides consimilis goodingi ranges from the mountains of the ACT, NSW Southern Tablelands and the eastern half of Victoria
Butterfly Sightings:
- CLAIRE COTTAGE: Sep 2017 (29th), Oct 2017 (13th - 12.30pm) Jan 2019 (17th & 18th 2.17pm), Mar 2019 (8th)
- Elsewhere on the DORRIGO PLATEAU: Cathedral Rocks NP. Dec 2014 (2nd - 3.13pm & 4th - 9.46am)
- ELSEWHERE: None to date
Larva Sightings: (Note: Larvae not attended by ants).
- CLAIRE COTTAGE: None to date
- Elsewhere on the DORRIGO PLATEAU: None to date
- ELSEWHERE: None to date
Larval food plants: (the flower buds and flowers of)
- CLAIRE COTTAGE:
- ARALIACEAE - Polyscias elegans (Celery wood), Polyscias sambucifolia (Elderberry Panax), Hedera helix (Common Ivy)*
- CUNONIACEAE - Ceratopetalum gummiferum (Christmas Bush)
- RHAMNACEAE - Alphitonia excelsa (Red Ash)
- SAPINDACEAE - Alectryon coriaceus (Beach Alectryon)
- ELSEWHERE on the DORRIGO PLATEAU: (as for Claire Cottage plus)
- ELSEWHERE: (as for all the above plus)
Breeding season on the Dorrigo Plateau: Thought to be September to March
Flight habit: Thought to be mid morning to mid afternoon.
Habitat where found at Claire Cottage: Rainforest edge - subtropical and warm temperate RF.
Thought to be breeding at Claire Cottage: Yes
Identification note for Pencil-blues:
There is a high degree of difficulty in identifying the three Pencil-blues - Glistening, Dark & Trident. The Dark however has a smaller white spot on its hindwing in upperwing images, underwing images are even more difficult and a degree of uncertainty always remains.
Identification Confirmation: (for the 3 Sept 2017 images)
Darren Moffatt and Trevor Lambkin have both agreed with my identification here - Oct 2017.
Kelvyn Dunn confirmed my identification of the Cathedral Rocks butterflies - Dec 2014.
Trevor (L) comments; Yes it is C. consimilis consimilis, the telltale hindwing white spot that is overlaid with blue scales confirms the ID. In addition, I am pretty sure that this is the only Candalides species, like this one, that you would get at your elevation (800 metres), i.e. above around 300 metres. The hindwing above is too dusted with blue and the forewing spot is not round terminally, which matches consimilis. I have compared them with my specimens and although it is a beautiful specimen (better than mine in my collection) the underside spots agree with consimilis. Field photographed specimens of the cryptic ones are always difficult to identify from a photo.
Flight habit: Throughout the day.
First warm season sighting - Claire Cottage: 27/11/2016
Last warm season sighting - Claire Cottage: 08/03/2019