Bug FAQCommon Line Blue
Prosotas nora · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
Also called: Long-tailed Line-blue
The common lineblue butterfly has a purplish-brown upperside with a slight sheen and slender black lines on the wings; the hindwing tail is black tipped with white. It lives from the outer Himalayas across peninsular India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Australia. Its larvae feed on flower buds of various Fabaceae, Sapindaceae, Saxifragaceae and Euphorbiaceae plants, inserting eggs into tightly packed buds.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males show a purplish-brown or purplish upperside with a faint sheen, and both fore- and hindwings are almost uniform with thin black lines; the hindwing tail is black with a white tip.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Females have modified genitalia to lay eggs in ramose or head-type inflorescences.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on flower buds of several Fabaceae such as Acacia and Mimosa, as well as Allophylus, Sandoricum, Itea oldhamii, Bischofia javanica and Murraya koenigii. They are specialized flower or flower-bud feeders.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs are placed singly or in groups inside tightly packed flower buds and are covered with a transparent gelatinous substance.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It occurs from the outer Himalayas through peninsular India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, into the Malay region and the Philippines.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do common lineblue caterpillars eat?
The caterpillars feed on flower buds of various Fabaceae, Sapindaceae, Saxifragaceae and Euphorbiaceae species such as Acacia, Mimosa, Allophylus, Sandoricum, Itea oldhamii, Bischofia javanica and Murraya koenigii.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find the common lineblue butterfly?
It is found from the outer Himalayas across peninsular India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, through the Malay region to the Philippines and Australia.
Source: Wikipedia
How does the common lineblue lay its eggs?
Females insert eggs into tightly packed flower buds, either singly or in clusters, and cover them with a transparent gelatinous coating.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosotas_nora
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.