The pupa is black with flanges each side of the abdomen, and has a length of about 1.3 cms. It may be found in the debris at the foot of the foodplant.

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

The female adults are dark brown on top, with a large blue patch near the centre of each fore wing. The males are more uniformly purple over both fore and hind wings, with a black trident mark near the centre of each forewing. Underneath, they both are a pale fawn colour with arcs of brown carets and dots under both fore and hind wings. The butterflies have a wing span of about 3 cms.

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

The eggs are green, round, flattened, with microscopic knobbles. Their diameter is about 0.5 mm. They are laid singly on the buds or stalk of a foodplant.

Males are known to 'hilltop' while females are more secretive in their habits. Populations are isolated, though common where they occur. The species occurs in the southern half of mainland Australia, from Perth to Brisbane, including the subspecies :

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 762-763.

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