Delias carstensziana Rothschild 1916

This is not a common species, found mainly in the remote mountainous region of the foothills of Mt. Carstensz and surrounding mountains in the Snow Mountain Range. The recent discovery of the new subspecies D.c.inexpecta raises the possibility of the species being found elsewhere along the main central ranges of Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea.

It is similar to D. gilliardi of Papua New Guinea, and it may be assumed that they were once the same species, but diverged due to the distance between their ranges.

The subspecies D.c.alcicornis is lighter in colouration than the nominate form and would appear to provide the link between the two species.

Original Description - Rothschild (1915, Report of the B.O.U. and Wollaston Exp. Lep.)- "Male: Nearest to catisa Jord. in pattern, and in shape and size to leucobalia Jord. Upperside: Fore wing brownish black, an oval creamy-white patch occupying lower two-thirds of cell, a post median oblique band of 3 creamy-white spots and a similar subapical spot, subbasal half of wing below cell cream-white, base of wing brown-black powdered with grey scales. Hind wing, base brown black, with grey scales, subbasal three-quarters of wing cream-white, abdominal fold golden-yellow, white spots on termen at end of veins in both wings. Underside : Fore wing, basal half obliquely, except costa, bright orange; outer half brown-black, a postmedian strongly oblique band of 3 large spots yellow, 2 subapical spots white with orange streaks; the terminal white spots run inwards along the veins some 2 millimetres, their inner half being orange. Hind wing deep black-brown, basal one-third of costa broadly white edged with orange, an irregular jagged white patch very wide reaches from costa one-sixth from base obliquely across the wing to beyond the cell between veins 3 and 7, this patch is edged with orange; 2 orange spots below cell and 2 orange lines from base to tornus along abdominal fold, a submarginal band of large helmet-shaped white spots and a marginal row of pale yellow spots, veins beyond cell orange. One specimen has the cell on fore wing above entirely white and the median spot of oblique band much enlarged and joined to white area of cell; another above has the postmedian spots almost obsolete and ground colour intense black".

Female: Description not available.

Subspecies :	carstensziana	- Rothschild 1916
	alcicornis	- Roepke 1955
	inexpecta	- Morinaka & Nakazawa 1999
	(Synonym starensis	- Lachlan 2000)

Wingspan :	60mm
Range :	carstensziana	-Snow Mtns, Irian Jaya
	alcicornis	-Baliem Valley Irian Jaya and Hagen Range, PNG
	inexpecta	- Enga & West Sepik Provinces, Papua New Guinea