The larval and biological characteristics of the large Neotropical genus Leucochrysa are poorly known. This report provides the first taxonomic descriptions of the larvae (three instars) of a species from the subgenus Leucochrysa, Leucochrysa (L.) varia (Schneider). In doing so, it confirms and expands the generic diagnosis that was previously formulated on the basis of larvae in the other Leucochrysa subgenus, Nodita. Our report also provides biological data (developmental times and survival rates) from rearings under a range of temperatures (18–30°C). Finally, it describes the remarkable color variation of L. varia adults; this variation is neither maternally determined nor based on a simple (single-gene) mode of inheritance.