MORPHOLOGY
External characteristics
Male
Hindwings The hindwing underside has a white costal patch (Pequin, 2021).
Female
The females generally have a different underside wing surface than the males, by being darker with broader margins on both wings (D'Abrera, 1982). There are various female forms; some females have yellow colouration on the forewing underside, other females have yellow colouration on both wings underside (Pequin, 2021).
Subspecies and variation
Six or seven subspecies are described, of which two subspecies are found in Papua New Guinea and five subspecies are found in Papua; Delias of the World (Pequin, 2021) is uncertain whether ssp. hypoxantha is a separate subspecies, or is actually ssp. hypochrysis.