Delias walshae Roepke 1955

Delias walshae sanaeae male
Pass Valley, Papua
18 November 2024
Picture by Antonio Giudici

Subspecies and range of Delias walshae :

. walshae Roepke 1955 - Ibele Valley, Papua

. sanaeae Sakuma 1999 - Pass Valley, Papua

. ilu van Mastrigt 2000 - Mulia, Omeyo, Ilu (Papua)

Notes on Delias walshae :

This species, identified by Roepke in 1955, can easily be distinguished by the absence of a basal spot on the hindwing underside, and by the yellow underside colouring, as opposed to orange in D. hemianops and D. fioretti.

Roepke originally placed this species as a subspecies of D. mariae, but it was upgraded by Yagishita (1993) to specific status.

D. walshae walshae differ from the subspecies by having a large white area on the forewing underside, and a creamy/pale yellow hindwing. It is found in the Ibele Valley, in the Central Mountains of Irian Jaya.

D. walshae ilu, Mastrigt (2000), is more strongly marked in yellow on the underside forewing, and is found in Homeyo, Sinak, Ilu & Mulia areas of the Central Mountains.

D. walshae sanaeae, Sakuma (1999), was originally, erroneously, placed as a subspecies of D. hemianops. It shows a larger area of black markings on the underside forewing than the other subspecies. It is found around Pass Valley, in the Central Mountains.