The caterpillars are often accompanied by small black ants. The caterpillars grow to a length of about 1 cm.

(Photo: courtesy of Wes Jenkinson)

The males are deep blue on top with a black margin. Each hindwing has a series of spots along the rear margin, including a prominent black one at the tornus. They have a wingspan of about 2.5 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of Nick Monaghan, Broadbeach, Queensland)

The females are similar but are paler with a wider black margin, and are slightly larger than the males. Both sexes have a small tail on each hind wing.

Male upper surface
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

Underneath, both sexes are fawn with several arcs of white dashes. Each hind wing has an orange-edged black spot near the tornus.

Female upper surface
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The eggs are round white and flattened, and typically laid on flower buds of a food plant.

Male underside
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The species occurs mainly in the north-east quarter of Australia, from Derby around to Port Macquarie, so including :

Female underside
(Photo: courtesy of Gary Brooks, Tinnanbar, Queensland)

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 823-824.

Gervase Frederick Mathew,
Descriptions and life-histories of new species of Rhopalocera from the Western Pacific,
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
1889, Part 2, pp. 311-312.

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(updated 22 March 2011, 19 April 2016, 24 July 2020)