The Caterpillars are gregarious, and often ringbark the stem of the shoot on which they are feeding, as well as eating the foliage.
(Specimen: courtesy Butterfly House, Coffs Harbour)
The pupa is spiky and is pale brown with black markings and gold spots. It hangs head downward from a cremaster, and resembles a dead leaf.
(Specimen: courtesy Butterfly House, Coffs Harbour)
The butterflies have wings that are scarlet with broad black margins. The forewing tips each have a diagonal white patch. Underneath, the wings are orange, with a white patch under each forewing tip, and arcs of white outlined black spots under each wing. The wingspan is about 8 cms.
(Specimen: courtesy Butterfly House, Coffs Harbour)
The eggs are pale yellow and laid in groups of about 50 on young shoots of a foodplant.
Australia Post, 2004
This species is featured in the Butterfly House at the Melbourne Zoo.
Australia Post, 1998
This species occurs in Papua New Guinea, and the subspecies chrysippe occurs along the tropical north-east coast of Queensland.
Vanuatu, 10 vatu coin, 2006
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 539-540.
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