Illidge's ant-blue butterfly (''Acrodipsas illidgei''), is an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

endemic to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. This species can be found at six confirmed sites: Mary River Heads, Beaver Rock and Maaroom in the Mary River Region;

Redland Bay Redland Bay is a coastal semi-rural locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , Redland Bay had a population of 14,958 people. Since the first European settlers arrived in the mid-19th century, Redland Bay has remained a f ...

and Point Halloran in the

Moreton Bay Region The Moreton Bay Region is a local government area in the north of the Brisbane metropolitan city in South East Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it replaced three established local government areas, the City of Redcliffe and the Shires ...

;

Brunswick Heads Brunswick Heads is a small town on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia in Byron Shire. At the , the town had a population of 1,737 people. History Originally inhabited by people of the Bundjalung people, Bundjalung nation, the Bru ...

in New South Wales.Beale, J.P. and M.P. Zalucki. "Status and distribution of Acrodipsas illidgei (Waterhouse and Lyell) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) at Redland Bay, southeastern Queensland, and new plant-association record." ''Journal of the Australian Entomological Society'' 34.2 (1995): 163–168.

Characteristics

The eggs of the Illidge's ant-blue butterfly are white and have an average diameter of 0.7 mm. In its

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

stage it is white. The

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

of the butterfly is approximately 1 cm lengthwise and is brown. As adults they are brown and the females of the species contain blue coloured regions on the surface of their wings that change shades depending on the angle from which the surface is being viewed. The ventral side of both genders of the butterfly are fawn in colour and contain small dark spots. The wingspan of the butterfly is approximately 2 cm.Herbison- Evans, Don and Stella Crossley
''Acrodipsas illidgei (Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914)''
. Updated 08/29/2005. Macleay Museum at University of Sydney. Accessed on 05/02/2007.

Ecology

The life cycle of the Illidge's ant-blue butterfly, from when the eggs are laid to when the butterfly finally emerges, is highly complex. It is also one of the best illustrations of the symbiotic relationship between organisms within

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

systems. The eggs are laid by the females of the species in stubs on grey mangrove trees where there is a presence of ''

Crematogaster ''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Members of this genus are a ...

'' ant colonies. The larvae are transported to the ants' nests by the ants where they feed on excretions from the larvae, while a larva on the other hand feeds on developing ants (perhaps its regurgitations).''Illidge's Ant-blue Butterfly, Acrodipsas illidgei''
. (2007) Queensland Museum. Accessed on 29 April 2007. There have been no recorded natural enemies of the Illidge's ant-blue, except for the exposed immature stage as an egg to hunting spiders. The largest cause of mortality of the larvae has been the host ants turning hostile towards it. Fluffy scales cover the body of an emerging butterfly so as to protect it from such hostile attacks.

Conservation

The essential threat to the existence of Illidge's ant-blue butterfly arises as a result of the destruction of mangrove habitats. Since numerous plants and animals are so heavily reliant on each other within the mangrove systems, its destruction also endangers the existence of other organisms such as crustaceans and molluscs. To prevent the extinction of the Illidge's ant-blue butterfly the state government of Queensland granted the species permanently protected status in 1990. This necessitated all collected samples of the species to be registered and made it illegal to collect the species without prior consent from relevant state officials.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3768755 Acrodipsas Butterflies of Australia Endangered fauna of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Butterflies described in 1914