Delias hyparete metarete - Butler 1879    The Painted Jezebel

 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                        upperside               Female                  underside
Flight Period Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
      X X                
 Wingspan : 60-75 mm
Species details :The genus Delias is the largest of the Pieridae, and there are currently 278 species known, being found from Kashmir, through Asia to New Caledonia, with new discoveries nearly every year.

This species is found in two forms in Thailand. The subspecies found on Samui is D. hyparete metarete, and is the southern form, found on peninsular Thailand and the Malay peninsular. (The northern form, D. hyparete indica has more yellow on the hindwing underside, and the black markings on the upperside are lighter).

This is one of only two Delias species found so far on the island, and, as it is quite unmistakeable. The wingspan of this species ranges from 60mm to 75mm, and as such is one of the larger members of the family. In common with nearly all members of this genus, the upperside is predominately white, whilst the underside is the more colourful. The female is darker than the male, and both sexes have the veins marked in black. The species tends to keep to lower altitudes, and prefers to fly around the tops of flowering bushes and trees, being seen primarily in open woodland and often nearby gardens.

The butterfly is most often seen in the early part of the day. During the heat of mid day, they can usually be found sheltering in shade under trees to escape the direct heat of the sun.

Very rarely, the red markings on the undersides are replaced by yellow.

Early Stages         : More detailed life history information is available from the following resources: S. Igarishi - Life Histories of Asian Butterflies, Volume.1 , Page 301.

pupa

Larval Foodplant : Loranthus (mistletoe)

Range                    : Nicobar Islands, Southern Thailand,  Mainland Malaysia and Singapore (Other subspecies from S. India, E. Nepal, Bangladesh,  NE India, throughout Indo-China, Southern China, Taiwan, The Indonesian Archipelago as far as Lombok, Borneo and the Philippines).