The Small Dusky-blue is a species of butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 of the Lycaenidae

Lycaenidae

The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...

 family. It is found in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is about 20 mm. Adults are dark brown with a purple sheen. The underside is fawn with brown markings.

The larvae have been recorded feeding on Cassytha aurea, Cassytha filiformis and Cassytha pubescens

Cassytha pubescens

Cassytha pubescens the Devil's Twine is a common twining plant of the Laurel family, in southern and eastern Australia. A hemi-parasitic climber....

. They are velvety green with a pale yellow dorsal line edged with brown markings. Pupation takes place in a grey or brown pupa with a length of about 10 mm.

Subspecies

• Candalides erinus erinus (Darwin, Cape York to northern New South Wales)
• Candalides erinus tualensis (Röber, 1886) (Kai Island)
• Candalides erinus stevensi Wind & Clench, 1947 (West Irian to southern New Guinea)
• Candalides erinus sumbensis (Tite, 1963) (Lesser Sunda Islands)
• Candalides erinus timorensis (Tite, 1963) (Timor, Wetar, Kissar, Letti islands)
• Candalides erinus taamensis (Tite, 1963) (Kur and Taam)
• Candalides erinus tenimberensis (Tite, 1963) (Tanimbar islands)
• Candalides erinus sudesta (Tite, 1963) (Tagula Island)