''Idea leuconoe'', also known as the paper kite butterfly, rice paper butterfly, large tree nymph,
or in Australia the white nymph butterfly,
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 ...
known especially for its presence in
butterfly houses and live butterfly expositions. It has a wingspan of 12 to 14 cm. The paper kite is of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
n origin, but can also be found in
Northern Australia and
Southern Taiwan The regions of Taiwan are based on the historical administrative divisions. However, most of the definitions are not precise.
Division into two regions
* Eastern and Western Taiwan: the Central Mountain Range separates Taiwan into east and west.
:* ...
.
Larvae feed on ''
Parsonsia
''Parsonsia'' is a genus of woody vines in the family Apocynaceae. Species occur throughout Indomalaya, Australasia and Melanesia.
Description
The leaves are opposite, the shape and size of juvenile leaves often bearing little resemblance to th ...
'' species, ''
Tylophora hispida'', ''
Parsonsia helicandra
''Parsonsia'' is a genus of woody vines in the family Apocynaceae. Species occur throughout Indomalaya, Australasia and Melanesia.
Description
The leaves are opposite, the shape and size of juvenile leaves often bearing little resemblance to th ...
'', ''
Parsonsia spiralis'', and ''
Cynanchum formosanum''
[ so both the butterfly and larvae are poisonous.
]
Description
The paper kite butterfly's forewings and hindwings are translucent silvery white with black spots, similar to the ''Idea lynceus
''Idea lynceus'', the tree-nymph (''Malaysian giant tree-nymph''), is a species of nymphalid butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes m ...
''.
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically:["''Idea'' Fabricius, 1807"]
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''
*''I. l. athesis'' Fruhstorfer, 1911
*''I. l. caesena'' Fruhstorfer, 1911
*''I. l. chersonesia'' (Fruhstorfer, 1898)
*''I. l. clara'' (Butler, 1867)
*''I. l. engania'' (Doherty, 1891)
*''I. l. esanga'' Fruhstorfer, 1898
*''I. l. fregela'' Fruhstorfer, 1911
*''I. l. godmani'' Oberthür, 1878
*''I. l. gordita'' Fruhstorfer, 1911
*''I. l. javana'' Fruhstorfer, 1896
*''I. l. kwashotoensis'' (Sonan, 1928)
*''I. l. lasiaka'' van Eecke, 1913
*''I. l. leuconoe'' Erichson, 1834
*''I. l. moira'' Fruhstorfer, 1910
*''I. l. natunensis'' Snellen, 1895
*''I. l. nigriana'' Grose-Smith, 1895
*''I. l. obscura'' Staudinger, 1889
*''I. l. princesa'' Staudinger, 1889
*''I. l. samara'' Fruhstorfer, 1910
*''I. l. siamensis'' (Godfrey, 1916)
*''I. l. solyma'' Fruhstorfer, 1910
*''I. l. vedana'' Fruhstorfer, 1906
*''I. l. vicetia'' Fruhstorfer, 1911
Gallery
File:Paper-kite caterpillar.jpg, Larva (caterpillar)
File:Idea leuconoe(pupa).jpg, Pupa
File:20070414 idea leuconoe strandberg crop.jpg, Dorsal view
File:Paper Kite 2010 031.jpg, Ventral view
Tree_Nymph_Butterfly.jpg, Feeding
References
External links
''Idea leuconoe'' page on the Butterfly Pavilion's site
Butterflies described in 1834
Idea (butterfly)
Butterflies of Indonesia
Butterflies of Malaysia
Butterflies of Indochina
{{Danainae-stub