Delias aruna

Sexually dimorphic.The male upper ground colour is yellow to orange.The forewing apex is black apex and there is a narrow black band marginal hindwing band.The female is black, with an orange basal area and obscure orange apical spots. The undersides of both sexes are dark brown. The male has a yellow forewing patch and a scarlet mark near the base of each hindwing. The female has arcs of yellow spots around the margin of the undersides of all wings. Both sexes have wingspans of c. 7 cms. D aruna is very variable across its large range.

• Delias aruna aruna (northern Moluccas, Waigeu, West Irian to northern New Guinea) light yellow basal region on the hindwing above.
• Delias aruna irma Fruhstorfer, 1907 ^[2] (Papua (Milne Bay)) the darkest known race; male beneath almost entirely black, also above with broader margins than inferna.
• Delias aruna inferna Butler, 1871 ^[3] (Cape York to Coen) - orange Jezabel in the female above no yellow transverse spot at the discocellular of the forewing, which, however, appears again beneath. very similar to irma.
• Delias aruna rona Rothschild, 1898^[4](Roon Island)
• Delias aruna seriata ^[5]( Bachan, Obi, Halmahera, Kasiruta and Gebi islands).
• Delias aruna arovana Fruhstorfer, H. 1913 (Rossel and Sud-Est islands) ^[6]
• Delias aruna rana Swinhoe, 1916 ^[7] (Ambon Island)
• Delias aruna sarera Yagishita, 1994 ^[8] (Manawi, Yapen Island)
• form madala Fruhstorfer, 1907 ^[9] (German New Guinea) Distal margin narrow, the ground-colour above orange, whilst on the under surface the red costal and discal spot are considerably larger and hence the black distal margin is reduced.
• form bajura (Waigeu) pale yellow basal part of the hindwing above;sharply defined and narrower white transverse spot before the cell of the forewing.

They fly singly, mostly met with in July in open woods. The butter¬ flies are fond of visiting the flowers of Syzygium jambos, on which they have been found even at elevations of 1000 ft.