Appias ada

The Caterpillar of this species is bluish-green and covered in small blue tubercles. It has a yellow line along the back. It grows to a length of about 3.5 cms. It feeds only on young shoots of:

• Temple Plant ( Crataeva religiosa, CAPPARACEAE ),

and does not survive if only given older leaves.

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.

The males have a white spot in the black area near the apex.

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.

Don`t forget to check out our article about the insect identification.