to an altitude of in the hills. The butterfly may be found wherever there are trees, even in towns and cities, flying high among the trees and visiting flowers. It is also commonly seen in gardens. The females can be seen flying amongst the trees in search of its food plants, while the males are more frequently observed visiting flowers for nectar. It rests with its wings closed exhibiting the brilliantly coloured underside. The Jezebel often flies high up in the canopy and usually comes lower down only to feed on nectar in flowers. Due to this habit apparently, it has evolved a dull upperside and a brilliant underside so that birds below it recognise it immediately while in flight and at rest. Protection It has bright colouration to indicate the fact that it is unpalatable due to toxins accumulated by the larvae from the host plants. Like other unpalatable butterflies the common Jezebel is mimicked by Prioneris sita, the painted sawtooth. The common Jezebel can be distinguished by the shape of the orange red spots on the hindwing. In the painted sawtooth these spots are very squarish whereas in the common Jezebel they are more arrow head shaped. The painted sawtooth also flies faster and will also mudpuddle. Life cycle The Jezebel breeds all year round. Eggs Larva The caterpillars are gregarious in the first few instars. Caterpillars are yellow brown with a black head and have white tubercules from which long white hair arise. "Long, cylindrical and smooth with an oily gloss. Two subdorsal rows of long white bristles springing from minute white tubercles; head, sides and back sparsely clothed with short white bristles: colour brown, head and feet black. It may be found from the beginning of August everywhere on the common 'mistletoe' (Loranthus), from which it will drop and hang by a thread if the tree is shaken. We have never found it feeding on anything else. Unlike most butterflies this species lays as many as twenty or thirty eggs on one leaf, in parallel rows, with equal intervals, and the larvae continue in some measure gregarious to the last, so that a large number of pupae are often found, at a little distance from each other, on a wall, or the trunk of a tree." When born, they first make a meal of their eggshell and wander off to the nearest leaf-margin where they devour