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

“Larva. Dull-green, rather paler laterally; a pale-reddish dorsal median line. About 7 lines in length and 2 lines in width, across middle of back. Anterior extremity blunt and rounded; posterior extremity tapering and terminating bifidly; central portion very thick and convex superiorly. (Described from a drawing by Captain H.C. Harford of a specimen found near D’Urban, Natal, on 20^th September 1868. The figures – No. 8 on Plate I – are from drawings of King William’s Town specimens by Mr. J.P. Mansel Weale.). Pupa. Bright-green, paler on under side. Along median line of back a row of five sub-rhomboidal, creamy, ferruginous-edged spots, viz., one apart from the rest and more rounded on posterior part of thorax, and four along abdomen; on each side of abdomen a row of three similar, smaller, rounded spots. (These spots are variable; in one specimen the first, second, and third on back of abdomen are large and contiguous, while in another they are small and widely separate. In the latter, too, the lateral abdominal spots are altogether wanting.). Length ½ inch; width (greatest across anterior part of abdomen) ¼ inch. (Described from two specimens received alive from Miss F. Bowker, of Pembroke, near King William’s Town, in February 1973. A third specimen had produced the imago en route, and I obtained perfect butterflies from the two pupae described. The figure on Plate I is from a drawing by Captain Harford, who noted that the species remained twenty-five days in the pupal state).”

"Egg: 0.75 mm diam. x 0.5 mm high. Pure white with numerous indentations. Laid singly on a leaf or stem and hatching after some 6 days. The discarded shell is not eaten. Larva: 1st instar 1.25 mm, growing to 2.5 mm in 5-10 days; 2nd instar growing to 6 mm in 4-10 days; 3rd instar growing to 10 mm in 4-10 days; 4th instar growing to 18-22 mm in 8-19 days. The honey-gland and tubercles are present in the 2nd to 4th instars, but are indistinct in the 2nd instar owing to the larva covering itself with down off the leaf. The larva feeds on the surface of the leaf, in troughs, filling the part eaten with its body, but as it grows bigger it feeds on the edge, wrapping the fleshy 1st segment round the edge and completely covering its head. The body-setae are altogether different from those of Epamera and Stugeta. The shape and colour of the larva render them inconspicuous. Pupa: 14-15 mm. Secured to a twig or to the bark of the host-tree by the cremastral hooks only. Like those of the Stugeta and Epamera genera [subgenera], it has a habit of tapping when disturbed. The normal pupal state is from 12-23 days, but it may be considerably longer. Parasites: Egg. Infested by small Chalcids. Larva. Killed by Tachinids and Ichneumonids, one of the former so far identified being: Zenillia pilipes (in final instar). Pupa. Killed by a small Pimpla sp." ""Young larvae, when in their 'troughs', blend remarkably effectively with the surface of the leaf but, once this is realized, they are easy to locate - the older, deserted troughs indicating where a larva is likely to be found. The singular shape of the advanced larva combined with its colouring, render it equally inconspicuous when on a leaf, while the same thing applies to the pupa when it is attached to some part of the plant." Recorded from eggs and larvae from the eastern Cape Province."