At the Ocean Grove Nature Reserve, the butterfly laid its eggs, in clumps of up to fifty, on the dead stumps of Golden Wattle, Acacia pycantha. Only those stumps which houses colonies of a small black ant, Iridiomyrmex nitidus, were used. The ants, commonly called Coconut ants because of their strong characteristic coconut smell, tended the eggs until they hatched some four weeks later. The quick moving larvae were found inside the ants' nest. Little is known about the feeding behaviour of the larvae, but it has been suggested that they are predacious on the pupae of the ants. Captive larvae have also been known to feed on sliced apple and a honey/water mixture

The butterfly pupae are attached in groups to the walls of the ants' galleries, or in cracks in dead tree stumps. Ants have been observed walking over freshly emerged adults, without interfering with them in any way. Adults engage in 'tree-topping' before mating.

The coconut ants are very common at Inverleigh Common and Bannockburn Bush, although the SABB has not been recorded from these sites. In an effort to determine whether the butterfly is found there, the GFNC Biodiversity Group, has placed nesting stumps in the bush at Inverleigh. These are made from old railway sleepers, split lengthwise, with tunnels and chambers gouged into the internal surfaces. They are then clipped together, but can be easily opened without destroying the nest or its inhabitants. Both have been inhabited by the coconut ants, but as yet, no signs of the butterfly larvae have been seen.

Reference: Common and Waterhouse, Butterflies of Australia, Angus and Robertson, 1981