The caterpillars are usually attended by some ants of various species, including

male
(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences)

The adult butterflies are fawn on top, the male having a purple iridescence, and a straighter margin. The females have a blue iridescence near the bases.

underside
(Photo: courtesy of Todd Burrows, South Stradbroke Island, Queensland)

Underneath, both sexes are pale grey, with multiple arcs of brown dashes. The butterflies have a wing span of about 2 cms.

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

The eggs are off-white, round, and flattened. They are covered in a microscopic triangular lattice of ribs. The eggs have a diameter of about 0.5 mm. They are usually laid singly on the undersides of leaves of a foodplant.

The species occurs from the Mediterranean to south-east Asia, including :

and also much of Australia, including

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 835-836.

Frederic Moore,
On the Lepidopterous Insects of Bengal (continued),
Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,
1865, Part2, p. 505, No. 106, and also Plate 31, fig. 7.

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(updated 16 September 2010, 28 December 2023)