MORPHOLOGY
External characteristics
Male
Wingspan (mm): 43 (Braby, 2004).
Forewings: Both wings have a wide, black coloured marginal border, which is inwardly irregular and obscure. The forewing underside has a white ground-colour (Yata and Morishita, 1979). Hindwings The hindwing has a yellow, sometimes orange to brown, ground-colour. The marginal border on the underside wing surface is not purple-washed (Yata and Morishita, 1979).
Female Wingspan (mm):43 (Braby, 2004).
The marginal border is paler and wider in females. The hindwing is yellow coloured (Yata and Morishita, 1979).
Subspecies and variation
Fifteen subspecies are described. There is geographical and seasonal variation; the dry season form has the marginal border on the upper side wing surface reduced and the submarginal row of spots is clearer than in the wet season form. The basal half of the hindwing underside is in females of ssp. lucia dull-yellow coloured and tinged with orange. The ground-colour of subspecies from Pantar Island is on the underside of both wing yellow(Yata and Morishita, 1979).