Delias butterflies

wollastoni-delias.png

Delias schuppi ?  Talbot 1828 black.png 

Subspecies and range of Delias schuppi :

No subspecies

. schuppi - Ceram island, Indonesia

 

delias-schuppi.png 

 

Notes on Delias schuppi :

A very rare species, if a true species.

Until now, no photographs of the species had yet been taken to my knowledge. As far as is currently known, only two specimens exist, the type in the Munich Museum, photographed above, and one other specimen in the Leiden Museum.

We are extremely grateful to have been given permission by the Museum authorities to show the above photos.

Our personnal believing is that Delias schuppi is only an abberation of Delias echidna, and there are certainly many similarities.

 

Male: Original description from Talbot (1928 Bulletin Hill Museum.2, pt.1, 1928) - Upperside of forewing with a narrow black margin from beyond the apex to below vein 2 where it tapers off; this border is extended in cellule 3, reaching to the middle of vein 4, with black dusting to the cell, and only slightly along vein 3. Above vein 4 there is some black dusting extending to the costa and to about midway between cell and margin, leaving two spots of white ground-colour in 5 and 6. The veins distally and at end of cell are black. Fringe black to the submedian, and white along inner edge. Hindwing with narrow (about 3 mm. wide) black distal border from anal angle to middle of cellule 4, and continued as a line to about vein 6; its edge crenulate and     not sharply defined.  Underside of fore wing black with markings much as in dumasi. Basal area grey with slight yellow tinge below costa. Inner edge white slightly dusted with brown, this area sharply defined just above the submedian fold. A white subcostal spot, its upper part oblong in cellule 8 just beyond the cell, with an extension of the distal edge reaching vein 5. Five subapical spots as in dumasi, anterior three yellow, others white. The spot in 6 is larger and slightly narrowed proximally as well as the spot in 8; spots in 7 and 4 very small, the one in 5 rounded. Hindwing yellow with the black distal border broader than in dumasi (6 mm. on vein 4) and with smaller marginal yellow spots. The two anterior marginal spots much larger than the others, the upper one projects beyond the next one, and together with the spot in 4 are only separated by the veins; the other spots in 1c, 2 and 3 are rather small, the one in 1c composed of two dots. The edge of the black border is scalloped as in dumasi but more strongly. Veins forming the end of the cell scaled with white.

 

Female: Unknown to science

Group dorimene species :