When not feeding, the Caterpillar rests underneath a leaf.

(Specimen courtesy: Butterfly House, Coffs Harbour)

The pupa is suspended from a cremaster. It is brown and spiky, and has three white spots (one large, and two small) on each side. Its length is about 2 cms.

Male
(Specimen courtesy: Butterfly House, Coffs Harbour)

The adult is brown with a broad orange stripe extending over both wings. The females have a white mark in the black tip of each forewing, and the males have a yellow one. The wingspan is about 7 cms.

Female
(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis)

The undersides have a similar pattern but in light and dark brown.

underside
(Photo: courtesy of Martin Purvis)

The eggs are spherical and finely ribbed. They are silvery green and have a diameter of about 1 mm. They are laid singly under leaves of a foodplant.

The subspecies parva is found in the far north of Australia. It is a featured species at the Butterfly House at the Melbourne Zoo. Butterflies of this species may be purchased for release at weddings etc.

          
(Courtesy : Kraft Australia)

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 571-572.

G.A. Wood,
The life history of Yoma sabina parva (Butler) (Lepidoptera:Nymphalinae), Australian Entomological Magazine, Volume 14 (1987), pp 1-2.

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