Swainson, 1830 subtribe iolaina riley, 1958 Iolaus pallene. Photo courtesy Jeremy Dobson

"The egg is 0,8mm in diameter, 0,4mm in height and hatches in 8-10 days. It is white in colour and is circular and domed, though flattened ventrally. The upper surface is covered with a number of hexagonal indentations, forming a complicated embossed pattern, reminiscent of that of a golf ball. In the first instar the larva is greenish yellow with a disjoint pale red dorsal stripe and long black setae on each segment. In the third instar the larva takes on a distinctive shape, the thoracic segments having a humped shape which tapers down over the abdominal segments. The larva at this stage is smooth, without prominent setae and is either pale green, yellow or yellow mottled with red. At the end of the fourth instar the larva stops feeding and changes colour to a mottled grey prior to pupation. The final instar attains a length of about 16mm. The pupa is 10mm long, grey mottled with green and dorsal protuberances. (E. Pringle, pers. comm.)." "E. Pringle (pers. comm.), records the following: I. (E.) aphnaeoides spends most of its life in the pupal stage, normally lying dormant in the pupa for 10-11 months. The butterfly usually emerges in late spring, in October or November. Its date of emergence coincides with the two-month period (November and December) during which its foodplant comes into flower. The eggs are normally laid singly on the flowers, rarely on the leaves. The larva feeds almost exclusively on the flowers, although occasionally, and for short periods, may feed off the leaves as well. In the initial stages, the larva feeds by gauging out a furrow in the flower. In later stages it feeds by eating the flower from the tip down. This species has never been known to hibernate in the larval stage, and there is very little variation in the duration of this stage. Larvae have not been recorded later than mid-January, by which time the foodplant has normally ceased to flower. This species has only a single brood each year and a limited period of emergence. No larval or pupal parasites have been recorded despite a large number of specimens being bred from larvae collected in the field. The species therefore apparently has a very low parasitic rate. It usually pupates on the bark of the tree on which its foodplant grows. The pupa is cryptic, resembling a knot of wood."