''Jalmenus eichhorni'', the northern hairstreak or northern imperial blue, is a butterfly 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 endemic to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, including Cape York. 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 larvae feed on a various ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

'' species, including '' A. crassicarpa'', '' A. leptocarpa'', '' A. humifusa'' and '' A. holosericea''. The caterpillars are attended by the ant species '' Iridomyrmex gracilis'', '' Iridomyrmex reburrus'' and '' Iridomyrmex sanguineus''.

External links

Australian Insects

Australian Faunal Directory
Theclinae Taxa named by Otto Staudinger Butterflies described in 1888 {{Theclinae-stub