It is a common butterfly generally found in the wet forested hills of southern Asia, from India[3] and the Himalayas east through Indo-China.

[4] Edward Yerbury Watson (1891) gives a detailed description, shown below: All wings dark brown; some spots and a minute dot in the middle of the forewing, a small crescent at the apex, all transparent snow-white; on the upper surface of the hindwing four spots, on the under surface a larger number irregularly placed and yellowish, the borders white, interspersed with dusky.

Of median size, hindwing rounded at the outer margin, not elongated, the colour of all the wings above and below dark brown.

Club of the antennae snow-white, below brown.This butterfly is found in Myanmar, Thailand, western China, Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago (Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali).

It ranges from South India through Maharashtra to Bengal, and along the Himalayas from Kashmir to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (Mishmi Hills); and also the Andaman islands.

It visits Impatiens, Asystasia, Blepharis, Peristrophe, Crossandra and other Acanthaceae shrubs and herbs which are abundant in the dappled environs of the forest edge where this butterfly is most likely to be found.

As it is a wary butterfly which rarely settles on the top of bushes, resting instead mostly on the undersides of leaves, it is difficult to get a good look at the common spotted flat in the field.

[5] This species, like others of its group, is distinguished by its habit of keeping its wings spread flat; the behaviour which gives these butterflies their name.

[5] The egg of the common spotted flat are green, dome-shaped, glossy and have many small longitudinal ridges with smooth surfaces in between.

Here, the caterpillar resides till it outgrows the cell, whereupon it proceeds to construct a larger one, purse shaped using two leaves where it rests with head turned on the side.

The pale reddish-golden pupa is cylindrical, widest at the thorax, tapering quickly towards the head and gently towards the rear.