''Delias harpalyce'', the imperial white, is a
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
in the family
Pieridae
The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in Levi ...
. It is endemic to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Description
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
of ''Delias harpalyce'' reaches about . 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.
[Oz Animals]
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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).[
]
Distribution and habitat
This species can be found in Australia (New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Victoria, and South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
). It lives in the eucalypt forests.[
]
References
External links
Catalogue of Life
harpalyce
Butterflies described in 1805
{{Pieridae-stub