Glistening Line Blue
Sahulana scintillata
Appearance: Very small. Male upperside blue; female upperside grey-brown with extended blue suffusion and small white patch on the fore wing. Underside of both sexes mainly brown and white with characteristic pattern of patches and bands. Tail on the hind wing.
Wingspan: 1.9 cm
Season: Continuous breeding all around the year.
Range: Along the east coast of Australia, from the NSW central coast all the way up to Cape York.
Habitat: Coastal woodland and rainforest.
Notes
This inconspicuous little butterfly can be found along the east coast of Australia from the NSW central coast all the way up to Cape York, although the distribution is patchy along the east coast of QLD. Around Sydney the Glistening Line Blue can be found locally in woodland, but also in suburban gardens where the larval food plant has been established.
There are a few similar species, in particular the Hairy Line Blue (Erysichton lineata) and the Marbled Line Blue (Erysichton palmyra), but the Glistening Line Blue can be readily distinguished from these through the characteristic arrangement of markings and bands on the underside of the wings.
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