Appias albina (Boisduval, 1836)
White Albatross
 PIERINAE,   PIERIDAE,   PAPILIONOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

These Caterpillars feed on the foliage of various plants from the genus Capparis, including:

  • Capers ( Capparis spinosa, CAPPARACEAE ),

    although they have also been found on

  • Crataeva ( CAPPARACEAE ), and
  • Drypetes ( PHYLLANTHACEAE ).

    Appias albina
    Male
    (Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)

    The upper surfaces of the wings of the male butterflies are white.

    Appias albina
    Female
    (Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)

    The females have white wings with black edges. The black apical area of the fore wings contains white spots.

    The undersides of the fore wings are like the upper surfaces, but the undersides of the hind wings are yellow. The wingspan is about 5 cms.

    The species occurs as various subspecies across south-east Asia, including

  • India,
  • Japan,
  • Malaysia,
  • New Guinea,
  • Philippines,
  • Thailand,

    and as the subspecies albina in Australia in

  • Northern Territory around Darwin, and
  • Queensland.

    Further reading :

    Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Dechauffour de Boisduval,
    Species Général des Lépidoptéres,
    Histoire naturelle des insectes,
    Volume 1 (1836), pp. 480-481, No 62.

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, p. 328.

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    (updated 1 January 2012, 19 March 2015, 10 June 2020)