''Ogyris oroetes'', the silky azure, is a
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 ...
in the family
Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...
. It is found in most of mainland
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 ...
.
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
is 30–40 mm. Adults of both sexes are metallic blue, but only the females have black margins. The underside of the forewings blotchy fawn.
The larvae feed on
Loranthaceae
Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of them hemiparasites. The three terrestrial species are ''Nuytsia floribunda'' (the W ...
species, including ''
Amyena miquelii'', ''
Amyema bifurcatum'' and ''
Amyema pendulum''. They are grey and often flat with few markings. The larvae are attended by various species of ants. Pupation takes place under loose bark or in ground debris.
Australian Insects
/ref>
Subspecies
* ''Ogyris oroetes oroetes'' (Queensland to New South Wales and Western Australia)
* ''Ogyris oroetes apiculata'' Quick, 1972 (Western Australia)
References
Butterflies described in 1862
Arhopalini
{{Theclinae-stub