The eggs hatch into slug-like Caterpillars. They are off-white with a black head.

They feed on the the flowers of the foodplant, and grow to a length of 1 cm.

They pupate in a flower, so that when the flower dies, shrivels, and falls to the ground, the pupa falls with it. The pupation period can be about a fortnight, or a year, even for Caterpillars that pupated at the same time!

female
(Photo: courtesy of Jenni Horsnell, Wagga Wagga)

The adults are dimorphic: the males and females being different. The tops of the wings of the males are blue, whereas those of the females are blue with wide dark brown edges.

(Photo: courtesy of Wendy Moore)

Underneath, they both have a brown and white pattern. They both have a little tail on each hind wing, with a pair of small black eye-spots beside each tail. Presumably, the pair of eye-spots and tails (fake antennae) are useful for confusing predators about which end of the animal is which. The butterflies have a wingspan of about 3 cms.

Fiji, 1985

Males set up small territories which they patrol, fighting off rival males who trespass. If the resident male is removed, another one soon appears take his place and the one territory is used by males year after year. The species is found all over the world, including :

Ascension Island, 1989

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