In captivity, the caterpillars died if offered only flower buds rather than open flowers. The caterpillar grows to a length of about 1 cm.

     
(Photos: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The pupa is greenish-brown with dark brown markings. It is attached by anal hooks and a central silk girdle. It has a length of about 1 cm.

upper surfaces of male and female
(pictures: courtesy of Yusuke Takanami & Yasuo Seki)

The adult male butterflies of this species are iridescent purple on top. The females are similar but bluer, and shading to black at the wing margins. Underneath, they are both fawn with lots of squiggly white lines, and two black spots at the tornus of each hind wing. The male wingspan is about 2 cms. The females have a wingspan of about 2.5 cms.

The eggs are laid singly on flower buds of the foodplant. The eggs are white, round and flattened, and covered in knobs. The eggs have a diameter of about 0.5 cm.

This species is found across south-east Asia, including

and in the tropical north of Australia, including

under sides of male and female
(pictures: courtesy of Yusuke Takanami & Yasuo Seki)

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 781-782.

Johannes Röber,
Neue Tagschmetterlinge der Indo-Australischen Fauna,
Correspondenz-blatt des Entomologischen Vereins "Iris" zu Dresden,
Volume 1, Part 3 (1886), p. 63, and Plate 5, fig. 18.

P. R. Samson & T.A. Lambkin,
The immature stages and seasonality of Petrelea tombugensis (Rober) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae),
The Australian Entomologist,
Volume 30, Part 4 (December 2003), pp. 181-183.

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(updated 3 July 2008, 28 December 2023)