Appias paulina
Encyclopedia
The Common Albatross, Christmas Island White or Ceylon Lesser Albatross (Appias paulina) is a butterfly
of the Pieridae
family. It is found from India
to Samoa
, including Indonesia
, Japan
, Malaysia, New Caledonia
, Sri Lanka
, Thailand
, Ceylon and Australia
.
The wingspan
is about 50 mm.
The larvae feed on Drypetes australasica, Drypetes deplanchei
and Alchornea ilicifolia
.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Pieridae
Pieridae
The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing approximately 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and Asia. Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow or orange in coloration, often with black spots...
family. It is found from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, including Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Malaysia, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Ceylon and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 50 mm.
The larvae feed on Drypetes australasica, Drypetes deplanchei
Drypetes deplanchei
Drypetes deplanchei is a rainforest tree of eastern and northern Australia. It also occurs in New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island. The genus is derived from the Greek, dryppa meaning Olive Fruit. The species named after Dr. Emile Deplanche, who collected this plant at New Caledonia...
and Alchornea ilicifolia
Alchornea ilicifolia
Alchornea ilicifolia, commonly known as the Native Holly is a bush of eastern Australia. Growing in or on the edges of the drier rainforests, from Jamberoo, New South Wales to Atherton, Queensland.-Taxonomy:...
.
Subspecies
- Appias paulina galene (Ceylon)
- Appias paulina distanti
- Appias paulina griseoides (southern Vietnam)
- Appias paulina grisea
- Appias paulina galathea (Andamans, Nicobars)
- Appias paulina minato (Japan, Taiwan)
- Appias paulina ega (Northern Territory to Cape York)
- Appias paulina paula (Wetar)
- Appias paulina eurosundana (Timor)
- Appias paulina zoe (Moluccas)
- Appias paulina falcidia (Biak)
- Appias paulina saina (West Irian to Papua)
- Appias paulina cynisca (Buru)
- Appias paulina micromalayana (eastern Java, Bawean, Tenimber)