The head is dark with yellow markings, while the neck and anal shields are likewise dark, but with a broad, yellow median line. The well-developed honey-gland is located on the seventh segment, and retractile white tubercles with protective spines are located on the eighth segment. The larvae shelter during the day in the nest of the host ant, and emerge at night, sometimes simultaneously, to feed on the host plant. The first two instars feed on the leaf surfaces, while the third and fourth begin to consume the leaf margins. The larvae are much larger than the ants, which always accompany them. The ants may stroke them slowly with their antennae, and often feed at their honey-glands. Motionless larvae may extrude their tubercles to ward them off. The 5th and 6th instars feed only on leaf edges. The sixth and last instar takes about three weeks to grow to over 3 cm in length. It pupates inside the ant nest, but will only expand its wings once exposed to light. Aposematism It is believed that the adult butterfly's black-spotted orange markings are a sign of unpalatability, and they may be toxic due to the larval stage's poisonous food plants. It is suspected that they may form part of a mimicry ring with Telchinia serena. Range and populations It has only been found in Limpopo, South Africa, and was originally deemed to be a southern population of E. acraeina. No specimens were obtained in the years 1993 to 2012, and the southern population was feared extinct. As of 2017, it status is indeterminate as its continued presence at Bateleur Nature Reserve has not been confirmed. Jan Trichardt's Pass The first known population was located at 1,595 m.a.s.l. in a sparse mountain bushveld near Jan Trichardt's Pass in the central Waterberg. They frequented 3 ha at the northwestern base of Perdekop, a peak on the edge of an expansive, level valley. It was discovered there on 21 December 1980 by Dr. Dave Edge, who was accompanied by his spouse Esmé. This population was known to fly from December to early February. About 12 years later it was locally extinct, and no other populations were then known. Its local extinction was ascribed to habitat changes induced by altered grazing and fire management practices. The short grass and host plants were taken over by turpentine grass during a period when the conservation area suffered