MORPHOLOGY

External characteristics

Male
Forewing length (mm): 43-46. Wingspan (mm): 83-86.
Forewings: Upperside with basal half to 3/5 brilliantly sea green, reaching beyond end cell, outer edge more or less straight, but indented along vein 2 and shallowly along vein 3, where elliptical patches of dull dark gray seks-scales are placed; underside dark brown, but outer third in a triangular area, that is narrow at tornus and broad at costa, laler brown with dark veins and internervular stripes. Hindwings crenulate, well developed spatulate tail; upperside black, in basal 3/5 brilliantly sea green, diffuse green submarginal markings in spaces 2-5; underside dark brown in basal 2/3 or 3/5, outer area paler brown with black submarginal spots from space 1b to space 6, surrounded by blue on the outside and red on the inside rounded, narrow pale yellow spot in space 7.

Female
Similar to male, but without the seks-scales on the forewing.

Subspecies and variation

The species occurs on the North Moluccan islands Ternate and Halmahera and in western New Guinea, where they differ slightly. Two subspecies are recognised, ssp. lorquinianus on the North Moluccan islands and ssp. albertisi in New Guinea.

Similar species

P. ulysses is similar in in wing pattern and the possession of the gray-black seks scales on the forewing, but its color, sky blue, is very different.

_{source: Jan Moonen, peronal communication 2020}