The Caterpillars are normally attended by various species of :

     
(Photos: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The pupa is mottled brown with a length of about 2 cms.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The upper surfaces of the wings of adult males are a dull metallic blue or puprle, with narrow dark brown edges.

female
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The females are black with large areas of metallic blue, or purple, and have a white patch near each forewing tip.

male, underside
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

Underneath, the forewings are black with metallic blue bars.

female, underside
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The female additionally has the white patch underneath. The hind wings underneath have a complex pattern of light and dark grey. The wingspan averages 4.5 cms.

female, blue form
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The eggs of this species are mandarin shaped and dirty white, laid on or near the stems of its food plant

The butterfly occurs in

and in northern Australia in

Three races have been proposed : zolivia Waterhouse, 1941, typhon Waterhouse & Lyell, 1914, and zosine, but their distinctions are controversial.

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 708-710.

William Chapman Hewitson,
Ogyris,
Illustrations of new species of exotic butterflies,
London, Volume 1 (1853), p. 63, Nos. 3, 4, and also Plate 32, figs. 3, 4.

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(updated 3 July 2008, 25 January 2024)