English: DID YOU KNOW!!!

Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum/Division: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Pieridae Genus: Delias Species: D. hyparete metarete Common Names: Painted Jezebel Binomial name: Delias eucharis (Drury, 1773) Synonyms Status: Common

Painted Jezebels have white wings with black markings on the uppersides (wingspan up to 7.5 cm). The undersides of the hindwings bear bright yellow and red markings, which together with their weak flight pattern, advertises their unpleasant taste to predators.

General Biology This is a common butterfly in urban and forested areas and is active in the day and at dusk.

Life Cycle The eggs take 2–3 days to hatch into tiny, light orange caterpillars, each with a conspicuous black head and a body covered with long hairs. The caterpillars feed gregariously, increasing in size and undergoing a total of five moults before moving away from the food plant to pupate separately. The pupa takes nine days before its skin splits along the dorsal surface and the butterfly crawls out.

Here are some facts about the Painted Jezebel butterfly (Delias hyparete):

They are usually seen flying at treetops, coming down only to feed at flowering plants

The caterpillars and eggs are usually found on Common Mistletoe plants (Dendropthoe pentandra)

Their bright colours serve as a warning, to ward off predatory animals (i.e. animals that want to eat them!)

The bright yellow and orange colours are actually on the underside of the wing. The upper side is white in colour with black veins (refer to photos below).

How do you tell the males and females apart? The females have darker and thicker veins on the upper side of their wings.