Lycaenid on Citrus

[Adam Cotton]

Here's a photo I took today of a Lycaenid feeding on the sap on the bitten edge of a Citrus leaf. I think it may be Chilades lajus, which also uses Citrus as a larval foodplant. The leaf is folded over, and inside is a larva of a Microlep (not sure what family). I have seen these Lycaenids on Citrus before, but it was only after I loaded the photos to my computer that I could see that it was using its proboscis to feed on the broken leaf edge.




Adam.