Bright Cornelian (Deudorix diovis)
Appearance: Male hind wing upperside bright orange, fore wing upperside dark brown with extended orange patch; female upperside uniformly brown. Underside grey-brown with a series of dark bands and white lines and a dark eyespot on the hind wing. Both sexes have a long, fine tail on the hind wing. Very similar to the Dark Cornelian (Deudorix epijarbas).
Wingspan: 3 cm
Season: At least 2 generations annually.
Range: Eastern NSW and eastern QLD.
Habitat: Monsoon forest, rainforest, and riparian forest; also suburban areas.
Photo: Sydney, NSW, 17 / 01 / 2010.
Notes
This spectacular species can be found along the east coast of Australia from the NSW central coast all the way up to Cape York Peninsula in northern QLD. The butterflies normally live in monsoon forest, rainforest, and riparian forest, but they can also be found in suburban areas wherever the food plants have been established.
In the Wet Tropics of QLD and eastern Cape York Peninsula there is a very similar species, the Dark Cornelian (Deudorix epijarbas). Bright Cornelian males, however, have the orange colour on the upperside of the wings much brighter than Dark Cornelian males.
Additional Photos
