and is shepherded to its food by the ants. This was extensively illustrated in the BBC video "Metropolis" in the series "Alien Empire". The caterpillar feeds on the foliage of various Mistletoes (LORANTHACEAE) including species in the genera:

The pupa is dark brown and formed in the ants nest. Its length is about 2.5 cms.

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

The male adult is metallic purple in colour. The female is black with metallic azure toward the hinge, and a cream patch near the tip of each forewing.

female
(Photo: courtesy of Museums Victoria)

The undersides of the forewings are dark brown, with a series of white bars along the costa. The hindwings underneath have a complex fawn pattern. The females have additionally a white patch under each forewing. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 5 cms.

male showing underside
(Photo: courtesy of M. and P. Coupar, Museums Victoria)

The eggs of this species are flattened fawn spheres each with about 1,000 tiny hexagonal dimples. The eggs have a diameter of about 1 mm. They are laid singly on the food plant or nearby branches.

egg, magnified
(Photo: courtesy of Ken Walker, Millmerran, Queensland)

The species occurs in

Several races have been proposed, however, each shows a great deal of variation, and their status is controversial.

Further reading :

Genoveva Blue,
Australian Geographic,
Issue 24 (Oct-Dec 1991), pp. 43-47.

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 706-708.

William Chapman Hewitson,
Ogyris,
Illustrations of new species of exotic butterflies,
London, Volume 5 (1853), p.64,, and Plate 32, figs. 5-6.

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(updated 25 June 2008, 20 September 2013, 1 August 2020, 10 September 2021)