MORPHOLOGY

External characteristics

Male
Forewing length (mm): 45. Wingspan (mm): 77.
Forewings: Upperside black without ornamentation or with fine gray internervular line in apical area; underside as Upperside, fine gray lines may be better expressed. Hindwings crenulate, no tail; upperside black with broad, central, pale yellow band from space 1b to space 7, almost straight inwardly, but very convex outwardly with short extensions along the veins, dark red spot in space 1b under the yellow band and indistinct dark red spots in space 2; underside, large pale band of uipperside reduced to three white spots in spaces 3-5.

Female
Forewing length (mm): 49. Wingspan (mm):84.
Forewing, upperside dark brown rather than black, in the central area, creamy white stripes on both sides of the veins, which expand in spaces 1bc and 2 to fill much of the internervular space; underside similar, more dark grayish than brown. Hindwing crenulate, no tail; upperside dark brown with a small central white area in middle of space 2, bases of spaces 3-5, and in upper part of cell, indistinct to distinct dark red spots in spaces 1b, 2 and 3; underside rather similar, no white in cell, submarginal spots may be complete from space 1b to space 7.

Subspecies and variation

As an endemic of the Bismarck and Solomon Archipelagos the species consists of many isolated island populations, resulting in geographical variation as follows: ssp. phestus (New Ireland and New Hannover), ssp. parkinsoni (New Britain), ssp. reductus (Admiralty Group), and ssp. minusculus (Bougainville and other islands in the Solomons).

Similar species

Unmistakable.

_{source: Jan Moonen, peronal communication 2020}