MORPHOLOGY
External characteristics
Male
Wingspan (mm): 76 - 82 (DBpedia, n.d.).
Forewings: The forewing upper side has a sharply defined black apical area. The underside surface has a brownish black costa and apical half (Pequin, 2021). Hindwings The hindwing underside is lemon-yellow coloured without any vein stripes, but rather with a wide marginal border which is black-brown coloured. There are six white submarginal spots. The hindwing has a broad blackish marginal border. (Pequin, 2021).
Female
The females generally have a different underside wing surface than the males, by being darker with broader margins on both wings. In addition, females have a yellowish colouration on the underside wing surface (D'Abrera, 1982). The upper side wing surface is yellowish to creamy-white. The forewing has a brownish black costa and apical half. The hindwing has a broad brownish black coloured sharply defined marginal border, with the spots of the underside showing through the upper side. The underside wing surface is similar for the females as for the males (Pequin, 2021).
Subspecies and variation
Five or six subspecies are described; Delias of the World (Pequin, 2021) is uncertain about ssp. intrae (Pequin, 2021). Males of ssp. soteira differ from the nominate subspecies, by having better defined submarginal spots on the hindwing underside and do not have the greyish scaling. The females of ssp. soteira have a more whitish underside wing surface than the nominate subspecies (D'Abrera, 1982).