Acrodipsas myrmecophila (Small Ant-blue)

Notes

I went to Blackheath in October 2011; it was the earliest in the year I’d been there, and I went hoping to get some photos of a decent specimen of a female Cyprotides cyprotus. I thought it was a bit early to see much else, since Blackheath is relatively high up, and spring was late in starting in 2011.
However, not only did I see 2 male Acrodipsas aurata, but I finally found A. myrmecophila. I saw a courting pair of lycaenids on the hilltop. They were very small; the female had a lot of blue, and the male who was following her was smaller and a bit nondescript, though with a slight hint of blue. I had no idea what they were, as they did not look like anything else I could remember seeing. I followed them as they fluttered around quite slowly, about 2 or 3 feet off the ground. They landed quite often, but never for long enough for me to get a photo. Then they went down into the base of the shrub at the top of the hill – I got a good look at the female’s upperside, but still no photo. Then the female flew out and landed on my jeans, which is when I took 2 photos of her. I really would have preferred to get photos of her sitting on a leaf, but beggars can’t be choosers! 

I did notice that the female seemed to be attracted to the shade of blue of my jeans. Several times during their courtship she changed direction and headed straight to my legs. So if anyone is looking for female Acros, I’d suggest wearing blue jeans 🙂

I did not see the male at all, except when he was following the female. I have been on that particular hilltop plenty of times, without seeing this species, but now I wonder if they might have been there at times, but if they didn’t fly the chances of spotting them would be slim.

Since then I’ve only come across this elusive species a handful of times, despite me making many trips to the Blue Mountains to look for them. I intend to keep on going, however, as I would like to get plenty more (and better) shots of them.

Sightings

Blackheath – October 2011, October 2014
Bell – December 2017, November 2020

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