''Jalmenus lithochroa'', the lithochroa blue or Waterhouse's hairstreak, is a butterfly of 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 butterfly ...

. It is endemic to a small area around

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. 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 ...

is about 30 mm. The larvae feed on ''

Acacia pycnantha ''Acacia pycnantha'', most commonly known as the golden wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to southeastern Australia. It grows to a height of and has phyllodes (flattened leaf stalks) instead of true leaves. Sickle-shaped, thes ...

'' and ''

Acacia victoriae ''Acacia victoriae'', commonly known as gundabluie or bardi bush, is a shrub-like tree native to Australia. Subspecies: ''A. victoriae'' subsp. ''arida'' Pedley Distribution and ecology Found in arid and semi-arid areas, the ''Acacia victori ...

''. The caterpillars are attended by the ant species ''

Iridomyrmex purpureus ''Iridomyrmex'' is a genus of ants called rainbow ants (referring to their blue-green iridescent sheen) first described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862. He placed the genus in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicid ...

'' and '' Iridomyrmex viridiaeneus''.

External links

Australian InsectsAustralian Faunal Directory
Theclinae Butterflies described in 1903 Butterflies of Australia {{Theclinae-stub