Delias harpalyce

Delias harpalyce, the imperial white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is endemic to Australia.

Delias harpalyce
Live individual, ventral view
Museum specimen, dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Delias
Species:
D. harpalyce
Binomial name
Delias harpalyce
Donovan, 1805

Description

The wingspan of Delias harpalyce reaches about 60–70 millimetres (2.4–2.8 in). The upper surfaces of the forewings and hindwings are a whitish with black margins and a row of whitish small spots on the apex of the forewings. In the females the black outer edges of the wings are wider than in males. The undersides of the wings are chequered whitish and black, with a yellow band on the apex of the forewings and a red band on the middle of the hindwings.[1][2]

The larvae are about 4 cm in length, with a black body covered by white hairs. These gregarious caterpillars spin a silken web on their host plants (Amyema, Muellerina and Dendrophthoe species).[1]

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, and southern Australia). It lives in the eucalypt forests.[1][2]

gollark: Bye for the night!
gollark: users -> comrades too.
gollark: ``` CheatingYou agree that you will not attempt to "cheat" or bypass any site restrictions in any way. Cheating includes, but is not limited to: Attempts to force or trick users to click The People's eggs, hatchlings, or Comrades without their consent. Abuse of any unintended behaviors in the site’s code. Using browser addons, scripts, or other tools that modify pages on the site in order to give users of said addons an advantage over other users.```
gollark: It'd only be cheating if it gave me an actual advantage.
gollark: Whatever.

References
  1. "Butterfly House". Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  2. Oz Animals
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.