They actually consist of a white center overlain by bright ultraviolet iridescence, a colour generated by nanostructures on the wing scale surface.

[7][8] The ventral surface lacks any ultraviolet iridescence and consists essentially of banded white markings set against a brownish background.

They bear striking resemblance to Hypolimnas alimena in terms of flight musculature (thoracic mass).

[10] Polymorphism is expressed primarily on the dorsal surface, with morphs varying in the presence of white, orange, and blue markings.

[4] One genetic morph, named euploeoides by Clarke & Sheppard (1975),[4] is thought to present a mimic of one or several members of the genus Euploea.

In the Australian tropics, H. bolina is particularly common along tracks, streambeds, and the corridors formed between remnant gallery forest and cultivated sugar cane fields.

Unlike that of H. alimena, these females possess a strong preference towards exaggerated visual signals (dorsal blue coloration).

Early season (post-diapause) females in the Australian wet-dry tropics target freshly-germinated seedlings of their favoured host in this region, Synedrella nodiflora.

25 degrees C. Newly hatched larva first consume their egg shell before feeding on the leaf upon which they were laid.

Race bolina breeds on Sida rhombifolia,[19] Elatostemma cuneatum, Portulaca oleracea, Laportea interrupta,[20] Triumfetta pentandra,[21] and Asystasia species.

Other hosts include Elatostema cuneatum, Fleurya interrupta, Pseuderanthemum variabile, Ipomoea batatas, Alternanthera denticulata, and Synedrella nodiflora.

While in New Zealand, adult butterflies have been observed feeding on the nectar of Lantana, Grevillea, Hebe, Symphyotrichum novi-belgii, and Solanum muricatum plants.

On the Samoan Islands of Upolu and Savai'i, a parasite (probably Wolbachia) had been killing the male members of Hypolimnas bolina.