Bug FAQPlains Cupid
Luthrodes pandava · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
Also called: Cycad Blue
Source: Wikipedia
Adults are small butterflies about half an inch long, with males showing lavender-blue uppersides and females brown. In April and May the larvae swarm on cultivated cycads, eating new shoots and fronds and ruining the plant’s appearance for the year.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Male butterflies have a lavender-blue upper wing surface. Female butterflies have brown upper wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
A full-grown adult measures just over half an inch in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They breed on cycads, which are toxic to most vertebrates. In Calcutta they feed on the sago palm Cycas revoluta.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae have a rough, pitted surface with tiny white tubercles and fine hairs that require a lens to see.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Full-grown larvae are about half an inch long and come in bright green or dark reddish-purple forms.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Larval swarms appear in April and May on cultivated cycads.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
When do the larvae appear and what damage do they cause?
They swarm in April-May, feeding on new shoots and fronds of cultivated cycads and ruining the plant’s appearance for the year.
Source: Wikipedia
What do male and female Plains Cupid butterflies look like?
Males have lavender-blue uppersides, while females are brown on the upper side.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luthrodes_pandava
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.