The caterpillars are gregarious, and often ringbark the stem of the shoot on which they are feeding, as well as eating the foliage.

(Specimen: courtesy Butterfly House, Coffs Harbour)

The pupa is spiky and is pale brown with black markings and gold spots. It hangs head downward from a cremaster, and resembles a dead leaf.

female
(Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay)

The butterflies have wings that are scarlet with broad black margins. The forewing tips each have a diagonal white patch. The wingspan is about 8 cms.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay)

Underneath, the wings of the butterflies are orange, with a white patch under each forewing tip, and arcs of black outlined white spots under each wing.

underside
(Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay)

The eggs are pale yellow and laid in groups of about 50 on the stems of young shoots of a foodplant.

Australia Post, 2004

Australia Post, 1998

This species occurs as various races aroun south-east Asia, including:

and the subspecies chrysippe occurs along the tropical north-east coast of Australia in

mating pair
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The species is featured at the Coffs Harbour Butterfly House.

Courtesy of Kraft Australia

Vanuatu, 10 vatu coin, 2006

Courtesy of Kraft Australia

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 539-540.

Carl Linnaeus,
Centuria Insectorum,
Amoenitates Academicae,
Volume 6 (1763), p. 409, No. 76.

Garry Sankowsky,
The Red Lacewing butterfly (Cethosia cydippe),
Metamorphosis Australia,
Issue 78 (September 2015), pp. 4-10,
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club.

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(updated 4 December 2009, 5 November 2022)