Tailless lineblue
Unlike most of its close relatives, this small blue butterfly has no thread-like tails on its hindwings, only a rounded margin.
| Where | Forests, gardens and scrubland edges |
|---|---|
| Size | 22 to 26 mm wingspan |
| When | January to December |
The Tailless lineblue is blue above, more restricted to the forewing base in females, with a brownish grey underside crossed by wavy, white-edged lines and a dark tornal spot ringed in orange on the hindwing.
It flies alongside the similar Common lineblue through forests, gardens and scrubland edges from South Asia to northern Australia. Caterpillars feed on the flowers of Albizia and related legume trees.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Blue, Brown, White
Active
Day
To people
Does not sting or bite; often seen feeding at flowers alongside its close relatives.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Common lineblue has a thin black, white-tipped tail on each hindwing, while the Tailless lineblue lacks tails and has more rounded hindwings.
Questions
Is the Tailless lineblue dangerous to people?
Does not sting or bite; often seen feeding at flowers alongside its close relatives.
When can you see the Tailless lineblue?
The Tailless lineblue can be seen from January to December, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Swiss Natural History Collections - SwissNatColl, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Blues and coppers›Prosotas
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.