We have found that the Caterpillars are very economical. On average, each Caterpillar ate about three medium sized leaves during their whole life cycle. This is very little compared with that eaten by some other Caterpillars of comparable size, for example the various agricultural pest species in NOCTUIDAE.

(Photo: courtesy of Don Ashton, Mudgeeraba)

After the Caterpillar has eaten for about three weeks, it grows to a length of about 3 cms. It pupates on its foodplant. The pupa is white with black markings, and has a length of about 2.5 cms. In December in Melbourne, the adult butterfly emerges after about two weeks.

Male
(Specimens: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The adult male butterfly has white wings. The upper and lower surfaces of the fore wings have a broad black apical patch, and the upper surfaces of the hind wings have a black terminal border. The black areas enclose white spots.

(Photos: courtesy of Carol Buchanan, and Ted Cadwallader, respectively)

The under surfaces of the hind wings are black except for white patches between the veins, and a yellow inner margin, and subterminal spots. Its wingspan is about 5 cms.

Female
(Photo: courtesy of Francis Hawkshaw)

The adult females are larger, with a wingspan about 6 cms., and are variable in colour. Pale forms have the undersurfaces of their wings similar to those of the male, but can be distinguished from the male by the upper surfaces, which have wider black borders. Dark forms of the female have orange wing upper surfaces, with broad black borders containing white spots. Underneath, orange replaces white. All graduations between the pale and dark forms occur in the same population.

Female
(Specimens: courtesy of the The Australian Museum)

The eggs are orange, and laid in a group on the surface of a leaf of a food plant.

(Photo: courtesy of Merlin Crossley)

The species is found from Indonesia to Samoa as several subspecies. In Australia, two subspecies are recognised :

Samoa 1986

The food plants only grow wild in the northern two-thirds of continent, including Brisbane, New South Wales, and parts of South Australia. In spite of this, the Caper White butterfly frequently migrates south in summer. In October 1998, mass migrations occurred in Sydney. Such migrations to Victoria happen sporadically. Migrations to Melbourne for example have been observed in November and in January. There are only a few Caper trees in Melbourne, and it is interesting that the butterflies locate these particular trees and lay eggs on them. How the butterflies find these few trees is unclear.

(Photo: copyright Valda Dedman)

The male and female Caper White butterflies appear to migrate separately. For example, on 17 October 2000 at Point Addis, Victoria, 50-100 males were seen sheltering from the wind and rain, right on the cliff top. They were cold and inactive and could easily be picked up. Presumably they had come south the previous day on warm northerly winds. When the rain stopped for a few moments, one or two were observed hovering above the bush at the edge of the ocean. Another was on a bush, close to the ground, in the nearby Ironbark Basin. It, too, was cold and could easily be approached.

mating pairs
(Photos: copyright Valda Dedman)

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 321-322.

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