MORPHOLOGY

External characteristics

Male
Forewing length (mm): 69-73. Wingspan (mm): 120-126.
Forewings: Upperside black, indistinct grayish double stripes between the veins in the outer half; underside similar, but with conspicuous dark red patch in basal third of wing. Hindwings crenulate, no tail; upperside black, with gray double stripes between the veins which may extend to cover the outer half of the wing intersected by dark veins and dark internervular streaks (one per space), indistinct to conspicuous red mark at tornus; underside black with conspicuous dark red markings as follows: space 1b most of it, enclosing small rounded black submarginal spot, space 2 most of it or base black, enclosing to rounded black spots, spaces 3-7 ring-shaped spots along outer margin enclosing rounded black spot, red spots in spaces 3 and 4 and sometimes in 5 closed, those in spaces 6 and 7 always open.

Female
Forewing length (mm): 71-75. Wingspan (mm):120-136.
Forewing, black with inconspicuous to prominent pale gray stripes on both sides of the veins, with (usually) or without conspicuous red mark at wing base, part of the red color may be replaced with white; underside similar. Hindwing, upperside black, with or (usually) without double, blue, internervular stripes, no red at wing base, or red in basal part of cell and space 7, part of the red may be replaced by white, further red marks near tornus only, , or in space 1b and rounded submarginal spots up to space 6, or as extensive as in male, central area black, or with white patch in basal half of spaces 2 and 3, or white more extended, also in cell and space 4, or white extending over most of wing.

Subspecies and variation

Extremely variable individually as described above. The species is found in the Philippines, the Moluccas and the island of Waigeu at the western tip of New Guinea. Each area has its own subspecies: the Philippine populations are known as ssp. rumanzovia, the N Moluccan populations as ssp. deiphontes, the S Moluccan populations as ssp. deiphobus and the population of Waigeu as deipylus.

Similar species

Unmistakable.

_{source: Jan Moonen, peronal communication 2020}