Adults: Newly emerged butterflies are vividly orange, black and white. There are black and white splodges on the forewings, with three additional black spots. The hindwings have blue spots, or checkers, bordering the wing rears. The undersides of the wings comprise an array of browns. This makes the perfect camouflage when this butterfly is resting in trees and on the ground. Caterpillars: The larvae are covered in fine hairs, or spines, making them considerably spikey. They're variable in colour, but generally, are black/grey with pale yellow speckling, sometimes possessing longitudinal stripes. The caterpillars aggregate in numbers and spin webs of dense silk around the food plant. Pupae: The cocoons can be found hanging from stems and branches within deep vegetation. It looks like a shiny, malformed, dead leaf. Egg: Laid in batches of 20- 90. They're found beneath the leaves of nettles, the larval food plant.

Diurnal

We don't advise removing these from the garden ecosystem. They provide pollination services for garden plants and food for wasps, spiders and birds.

It's not recommended to use pesticides on these butterflies.