The caterpillars are always attended by :

     
(Photos: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The pupa is mottled brown with a length of about 1.5 cms. It is formed in the ground debris at the foot of a foodplant.

male
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The adult male butterflies on top are metallic blue with a black border to each wing, and a white patch on each forewing.

female
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The females are black with the same white patches.

male, underside
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

Underneath, they both have pale brown forewings with metallic green and black edges, and hindwings that are metallic green with black bars across them.

female, underside
(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

The male adults have a wingspan of about 3 cms., and the females about 4 cms.

The eggs are round and flattened, and off-white in colour.They are laid singly on or near rhizomes of a foodplant.

(Photo: courtesy of Bob Miller and Ian Hill)

This species is found in

and in Australia, where two subspecies have been recognised :

Both are found only in

Further reading :

G. Daniels,
The Life History of Hypochrysops theon medocus (Fruhstorfer) (LEPIDOPTERA: LYCAENIDAE),
Journal of the Australian Entomological Society,
Volume 15 (1976), pp. 197-199.

Baron Cajetan Felder & Rudolf Felder,
Zoologischer Theil: Lepidoptera,
Reise der Osterreichischen Fregatte Novara,
Band 2, Abtheilung 2, Part 2 (1865), p. 252, No. 297.

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(updated 11 November 2013, 26 December 2023)