They are always found in association with the ants

The Caterpillars shelter by day in old borer tunnels, and emerge at night to feed on the leaves of the tree.

(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service)

The adult is an iridescent bluish-purple in colour with broad black wing margins. The undersurfaces of the wings are creamy fawn, with various black spots and arcs of orange dashes edged in black and metallic green. The wingspan is about 2.5 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service)

The species occurs only around Millmeran and Leyburn in south-eastern Queensland. The removal of the trees from this area in order to promote human agriculture and settlement has made this species very rare and severely endangered. A grant has recently been awarded to help rescue this species.

Further reading :

Warwick Daily News (Queensland), Tuesday 11 September 2001.

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 674-675.

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