Appias albina

The Common Albatross (Appias albina) is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae (Yellows and Whites). It is found in India Southeast Asia and Australia.

Description

This butterfly closely resembles Appias paulina but the males can distinguished by the more acutely pointed forewing and the females by the narrower oblique black band on the underside of the forewing. Other differences are given below.

Variation

Wet-season form

Males have the upper forewings irrorated with black scales at the apex and anteriorly along the termen, much more sparsely and narrower in general than in A. paulina. On the underside, the apex of the forewing and the whole surface of the hind wing are pale dull ochraceous, sometimes with a faint pinkish tint, but never pale yellow as in paulina.

Female is dimorphic; the forms differ as follows:

1st Form : On the upperside, the posterior tornal portion of the black area on fore wing is not inwardly rounded, but straight and generally diffuse. The underside is very like the underside of the dry-season form of A. paulina female. It differs, however, in the narrowness of the oblique curved black band, the outer margin of which is irregularly zigzag, and never evenly curved as in paulina.