MORPHOLOGY
External characteristics
Male
Forewing length (mm): 30 (Kirton, 2018). Wingspan (mm): 45 - 60 (Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, 2022).
Forewings: The underside of the wing has an unmistakable pattern and colouration (D'Abrera, 1982). The forewing underside is white coloured, with a broad chocolate-brown border. The upper side wing surface has the termen edged black (Kirton, 2018). Hindwings The hindwing underside has a black marginal border and an orange coloured tornal marking (Yata and Morishita, 1979). The hindwing underside is yellow coloured, with a broad chocolate-brown border (Kirton, 2018).
Female
The female is darker than the male and the forewing cell is entirely black coloured. The forewing has a white coloured discal band divided by a black band (Yata and Morishita, 1979). The upper side wing surface is brown with white coloured streaks, the underside is pale yellow (Kirton, 2018).
Subspecies and variation
Nineteen (D'Abrera, 1982) to 21 (Yata and Morishita, 1979) subspecies are described, of which three are found in Philippines. The differences betweem subspecies are small, with the sometimes well differentiated form appearing to justify treatment as a separate subspecies. The female form of ssp. hippona is similar to ssp. enarete, but has narrower bands and streaks on the upper side surface of the wing. The male form of ssp. enarete has a unique dark brown outlining of veins R1, R2 and M1 of the hindwing upper side. The male form of ssp. formosana has a clear yellow apical spot on the forewing upper side; the female form has a yellow costa on the hindwing upper side. Female of ssp. lycaste are very dark, with a white spot on the forewing underside. The males and females of ssp. gellia are the darkest subspecies, where the male has broad black margins on the underside wing surface, and the female is black-grey over the entire underside surface. The males of ssp. lutatia are notable by its yellow colouration of the hindwing upper side (D'Abrera, 1982). There is seasonal variation; the dry season form is paler coloured than the wet season form (Yata and Morishita, 1979).