and does not survive if only given older leaves.
Female
(Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)
The adult butterflies of this species have a wingspan of about 5 cms. The upper surfaces of the fore wings are white, each with a black costa and black spots along the termen. The hind wings are pale yellow with black margins.
Male
(Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)
The males have a white spot in the black area near the apex.
Male underside
(Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)
The undersides of the males and females are very similar. The undersides forewings are white with a black costa. The undersides of the hindwings are yellow with a broad black edge.
The eggs are laid singly on young shoots of a foodplant. They are spindle shaped, and initially white but changing to orange as they near hatching. They have a height of about 0.1 cm.
The species occurs as several subspecies in New Guinea and adjacent islands, and as the subspecies caria in Cape York, Australia.
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, p. 329.
G.A. Wood,
The life history of Appias ada caria Waterhouse and Lyell
(Lepidoptera:Pieridae:Pierinae),
Australian Entomological Magazine, Volume 13 (1987), pp. 5-6.
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(updated 1 May 2009)