Delias hagenensis Morinaka, Van Mastrigt & Sibatani, 1993

Davenport, Chris & Grimaldi, Nicolas, 2019, A new subspecies of Delias clathrata Rothschild, 1904 and records of other Delias species occurring on Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea (Lepidoptera: Pieridae, Pierinae), Sugapa Digital 11 (2), pp. 53-67 : 57

Delias hagenensis Morinaka, Van Mastrigt & Sibatani, 1993

( Figs 17-18 )

Delias hagenensis was described from material collected at Pap Creek, Walya, 3000m in August 1973 and has since been recorded from Mt Hagen, Laiagam and Porgera ( Parsons, 1998) and Tari ( Lachlan, 2000). On Mt Hagen it is a common species however until now the female has not been recorded or illustrated in a publication.

Description of female: Broadly similar to male but distinguished on the upperside forewing by the suffusion of grey scales in the basal area and beyond the discocellular vein, (uniformly black in the male), and more prominent white subapical spots. The basal area of the hindwing has a slightly blue tinge in fresh specimens and contains yellow streaks at the costal and anal border. On the underside, the forewing discocellular bar is broader than in males and the white subapical spots are larger, particularly in space M 1 – M 2.

Figures

Figs 17-18. Delias hagenensis Morinaka, Van Mastrigt & Sibatani, 1993. 17. ♀, PNG, Mt Hagen, 2850m (CD), dorso; 18. Idem, verso.