Rice Paper Butterfly

Description:

aka Paper kite butterfly / Tree nymph / Mangrove tree nymph... is a large butterfly with a wingspan of 12 to 14cm characterised by translucent white wings patterned with black veins and numerous oval black spots.! it has a slow and extraordinarily graceful flight which gives it the appearance of a very thin piece of paper floating gently on the breeze and therefore... would appear it might easily fall victim to avian predators... but like all butterflies in the subfamily Danainae... it is poisonous and highly unpalatable to birds and is not often attacked as its body contains toxins which is derived from lactiferous larval foodplants... and is often supplemented further by toxins from adult food sources.!

Habitat:

hillside vegetation approximately 833 m (2,733 ft) above sea level

Notes:

Lepidoptera; Nymphalidae; Danainae; Danaini