Appias ada
| Rare albatross | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Appias |
| Species: | A. ada
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| Binomial name | |
| Appias ada (Stoll, [1781])
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| Synonyms | |
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Appias ada, the rare albatross, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found on the Moluccas, New Guinea, Indonesia, Australia and the Solomon Islands.
Subspecies
[edit]- Appias ada ada
- Appias ada thasia (Papua)
- Appias ada caria (north-eastern Australia)
- Appias ada solstitialis
Description
[edit]The wingspan of males is 59 mm, while in females it is 54 mm.[1] Upper segment of the forewings are white with a black costa, as well as black dots along the margin. Males have a white dot near the apex. The hind wings also have black margins, however are coloured a pale yellow. The underside of both male and female forewings are white with a black costa, while hindwing undersides are yellow. In the female, the black sections of the underside are larger, and the apex of the forewing is more rounded.[1] A. ada males are visually similar to those of D. ennia, especially the subspecies D. e. tindalti, both of which occur in the Cape York region of Australia.[1] The distinguishing feature is the lack of orange spots on the hind wing's underside.
Life cycle
[edit]Eggs: Laid singularly, placed on the young shoots of their food source. Shaped like a spindle (height of 1 mm, width of 0.5mm), and initially white, they change to orange before hatching. Larva: 35 mm long; blue-green body, with "numerous blue conical tubercles, a yellow middorsal line, and a white ventrolateral line".[1] The head is pale yellow, with blue stripes. Feed on the young shoots of Crateva religiosa, also known as Temple Plant.[2] It does not survive if fed older leaves. Pupa: 27mm long. Yellow with black dorsal spots. Black spine with a white cremaster.[1] Life cycle is completed within three weeks of summer: egg 4 days, larva 10 days, pupa 6 days [1]
Ecology
[edit]Occurrence records show the habitat of A. ada to range from open woody trees to sparse grasses.[3] Of the various species, only A. a. caria is apparent in Australia, to which it is endemic.[2] The larva rests on the midrib of a leaf, spinning a slik pad on which it sits.[1] Adults often fly rapidly along watercourses, and have been recorded all months excluding March.[1] The mitochondrial genome for A. ada has been sequenced.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h Braby, M., 2000, 'Butterflies of Australia: Their Identification, Biology and Distribution'
- ^ a b "Appias ada". lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au.
- ^ Australia, Atlas of Living. "Appias ada : Orange Albatross". bie.ala.org.au.
- ^ "Appias ada voucher 11ANIC-06913 cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene, partial cds; mitochondrial". August 13, 2013 – via NCBI Nucleotide.
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