The male butterflies are black with large white patches surrounded by iridescent purple. Their wingspan extends to about 6 cms. The female butterflies are orange with wide black borders around the wings, and a white patch and a variable number of white spots in the black tips of the forewings. Their wingspan can extend to 7 cms.

The species occurs around the whole equatorial belt: Africa, south-east Asia, the northern half of Australia, the Pacific Islands, North and South America, and the West Indies, including :

In the Americas and the West Indies, it is thought to have been introduced from Africa in the slave ships.

Ascension Island, 1988

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby, Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 2, pp. 569-570.

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