''Hypolycaena danis'', the black and white tit or orchid flash, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), 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 ...

. It is found in the

Maluku Province Maluku is located in Eastern Indonesia and geographically located in West-Melanesia, between Sulawesi and Western New Guinea, and comprises the central and southern regions of the Maluku Islands. It is directly adjacent to North Maluku, South ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

as well as the

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

region and north-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is about 30 mm. The hindwings have blue edges with black spots and two tails. The underside of the wings is similar, but the pale areas are yellowish. The larvae feed on ''

Vanda ''Vanda'', abbreviated in the horticultural trade as ''V.,'' is a genus in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. There are 90 species, and the genus is commonly cultivated for the marketplace. This genus and its allies are considered to be among the ...

'' species and ''

Dendrobium bigibbum ''Dendrobium bigibbum'', commonly known as the Cooktown orchid or mauve butterfly orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It has cylindrical pseudobulbs, each with between three and five green or purplish leaves ...

'',''Hypolycaena''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' '' Dendrobium canaliculatum'', ''

Cattleya ''Cattleya'' () is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals. Description Epiphyte, Epiphytic or terrestrial orchids with cylindrical rhizome from which the fleshy noodle-like roots ...

'', ''

Renanthera ''Renanthera'', abbreviated as Ren in horticultural trade, is a genus of large scrambling monopodial epiphytic and terrestrial species of orchid found in China, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Melanesia.Rice, R. (2008). Renanthera ...

'', ''

Phalaenopsis ''Phalaenopsis'' (), also known as moth orchids, is a genus of about seventy species of plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are monopodial epiphytes or lithophytes with long, coarse roots, short, leafy stems and long-lastin ...

'' and '' Phalaenanthe'' species. Pupation takes place in an off-white pupa, which is attached to the stem of the host plant.

Subspecies

*''H. d. danis'' (Bachan, Halmahera, Morotai) *''H. d. danisoides'' de Nicéville, 1897 (Kai Islands) *''H. d. deripha'' Hewitson, 1878 (Aru, New Guinea, Louisade Archipelago) *''H. d. milo'' Grose-Smith (New Britain) *''H. d. turneri'' (Waterhouse, 1903) (Cape York to Cairns)

Gallery

Image:Hypolycaena_danis_danis_male.JPG, ''H. d. danis'' male Image:Hypolycaena_danis_danis_female.JPG, ''H. d. danis'' female Image:Hypolycaena_danis_danisoides_male.JPG, ''H. d. danisoides'' male Image:Hypolycaena_danis_danisoides_female.JPG, ''H. d. danisoides'' female Image:Hypolycaena_danis_derpiha_male.JPG, ''H. d. derpiha'' male Image:Hypolycaena_danis_derpiha_female.JPG, ''H. d. derpiha'' female

References

Butterflies described in 1865 Hypolycaenini Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Oceania Taxa named by Cajetan von Felder Taxa named by Rudolf Felder {{Theclinae-stub