In summer in Melbourne, eggs that we collected hatched in three days from being laid.

(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The Caterpillars themselves are green slug-like creatures, with short white hairs, and a thin yellow stripe along each side of the body, and a darker green line down the back. The head is brown or black, although it is normally cannot be seen as the Caterpillar holds it tucked under the thorax. The Caterpillars grow to a length of 0.7 cms. This makes them hard to find, especially as they rest by day at the base of the foodplant.

(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The pupa is dirty pink, pale green, or pale yellow, with dark markings, and is attached to the undersurface of a leaf of its foodplant by tail and girdle.

(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The adult has a black body and the upper surfaces of the wings are purplish blue with a black termen.

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

The undersides are greyish blue with a fawn pattern of spots and stripes. The adults have a wingspan of about 2 cms. They normally fly very close to the ground.

The subspecies labradus is found over most of Australia, including:

The subspecies labdalon occurs on Cape York.

(Photo: courtesy of Tony Rodd)

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 837-838.

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