Appias celestina (Boisduval, 1832) Blue Albatross PIERINAE,   PIERIDAE,   PAPILIONOIDEA

Don Herbison-Evans (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley

male
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The upper surfaces of the wings of the male butterflies are blueish grey.

male, underside
(Specimen: courtesy of Margaret Humphrey, Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The under surfaces of the males are yellowish grey.

female
(Specimen: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

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

female, underside
(Specimen: courtesy of Margaret Humphrey, Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The undersides of the females are similar to the upper surfaces, with the addition of some yellow shading. The wingspan of both males and females is about 6 cms.

The species occurs on

Queensland on Cape York, but they have all been rather ragged, and are presumably specimens blown in on the winds.

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Further reading :

Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Dechauffour de Boisduval,
Faune Entomologique de L'Ocean Pacifique,
Voyage de Decouvertes de la Corvette l'Astrolabe,
Division 7, Part 1 : Lepidopteres (1832), p. 46, No. 1.

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, p. 327.

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(updated 14 November 2001, 19 March 2015, 10 June 2020)