Iolana iolas (Ochsenheimer, 1816)

Host plants:
Colutea arborescens

Habitat:
Iolana iolas inhabits hot shrub societies, for example on stony and rocky slopes.

Life cycle:
The pupa hibernates mostly on the ground, or more rarely in the capsule. The adult flies from late April to June. Eggs are laid on the calyx of Colutea arborescens. The caterpillars then develop inside the blistered capsules. In early June 2009, I found in addition to a single pupa already abandoned capsules in the Massif La Sainte Baume (Provence). In late July of the same year I observed apart from eggs and larvae of Lampides boeticus mature caterpillars of Iolana iolas in the Askio moutains (Northern Greece, 800m above sea level). I only observed green capsules, so that the only generation flies later than in Provence. Only rarely single individuals of a partial second generation are observed.

Remarks:
Iolana iolas occurs in isolated populations in the Mediterranean and reaches the Southern Alps in the north (S-Switzerland, N-Italy). Overall, it is found from North Africa across Southern Europe (most common in the Balkan peninsula) and Turkey to Iran.