Taxonomy
Red List Status -
Description
Wingspan: 45mm to 60mm for ♂, 45mm to 65mm for♀ .
Sexual dimorphism: very marked, the background of the wings is pure white in ♂, more or less dark sulfur yellow in, especially on the upper side of the wings, the black spots on the upper and lower wings are much more widely developed, with a blackish sulphurization of the bottom of the wing.
Behavior: ♂ scour the forest just below the canopy, hovering flight alternating with short but lively wing beats, looking for much more inconspicuous ♀ that move slowly and heavily low enough in the undergrowth , very stealthily.
♂ and ♀ sometimes leave the canopy in search of food, including following creeks, depending on the flowering of shrubs and trees.
Intraspecific relations: the ♂ often take a posture of intimidation in the presence of another individual, head raised, widely spreading the wings, flying above the adversary showing him all the colored adornment on the back of his wings, multiplying abrupt ascents and steep descents on the rival.
Interspecific interactions: seem to ignore other species.
Habitat: can be observed from mid-August to the end of February depending on the year, in several generations. Host of humid forests but occasionally found along the creeks between two forest stands, in search of flowering shrubs.
Host plant of the caterpillar: Amyema scandens (Thiegem), a lianescent Lorenthaceae, also present in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
(Jacques LAMY)