GREAT SOUTHERN WHITE Ascia monuste FAUNA PARAGUAY

Pieriballia viardi molione (Fruhstorfer 1908)
ENG: Painted White
ESP: Sayjú manchada
JIZ: Forewings square, slightly pointed at apices, hindwing rounded. Folded wing straight-edged, rounded on hindwing. Strong sexual dimorphism. Poses with wings folded. A flocking species. FLI: Flight strong and straight.
UPP: M (Fig 1-2) Forewing mostly white with broadly black apices and single rounded white apical spot. Hint of a tiny second white spot usually present but never distinct. Black extends approximately two-thirds down outer margin with slightly toothed inner edge, but never reaches tornus which is white. Hindwing again mostly white with toothed black outer margin, the "teeth" becoming more "streak-like" as they progress further from the anal margin. Smudgy greyish suffusion blurs the effect on the innermost part of the outer margin. F (Fig 3) Similar to male but black more extensive with prominent black "wedge" extending concpicuously into the white at its lowest point. Basal area and anal margin of forewing smudged with black and white areas with pale yellowish tinge. Hindwing exstensivley black, solidly so on hind margin and black with well-spaced white spots on hindwing subcostally. Hindwing costa pure white, but usually hidden behind forewing. Postbasal and median hindwing whitish with conpsicuous black veins.
UND: M/F (Fig 1-3) Forewing mirrors pattern of upperwing but browner and with some lemon-yellow spots along apical part of outer margin. Hindwing pattern complex, heavily-stained brownis-black (especially along the outer margin where solidly so) with conspicuous black veination medially and basally. Long lemon-yellow streaks and a single orange streak in basal cells and outer margin lines by a series of lemon-yellow spots.
BOD: Head black with a small white spot at the base of each antennae and a pair of white spots at the rear of the head. Neck adorned with a pair of medium-sized yellow spots. Side of thorax pale lemon with large orange spot close to head. Upperside of thorax black with white hairs. Abdomen white with blackish medial line on upperside. Eyes grey. Labial palps white. Proboscis black. Legs black, powdered with white. Antennae black with white clubs on the upperside
MMT: A medium-sized white Pierid. CL - 30mm; BL - 27mm; AB - 15mm; WS - 60mm; HW - 3.5mm; AL - 17.5mm; n=1 (1M).
SSP: Both sexes have a similar dorsal forewing pattern to that of Acsia monuste orseis but have only a single large white apical spot - not two similarly-sized streaks as in A.monuste orseis. Furthermore note that the black outer margin does not reach the tornus as it does in A.monuste orseis, the tornus being pure white in this species. Both sexes of P.viardi show considerably more black on the dorsal hindwing than A.monuste orseis, notably so in female P.viardi which has a mostly black hindwing. The ventral wing pattern is completely different, that of A.monuste orseis notably yellowish, that of P.viardi distinctly blackish. Note also the colour of the clubs on the antennae, white in this species, turquoise in A.monuste orseis
ABU: Frequent to abundant in some areas.
HAB: Commonest in forest clearings and edge, and gardens in humid areas.
HOS: No information available.
Citable Reference: Smith P (2007) FAUNA Paraguay Online Handbook of Paraguayan Fauna Butterfly Species Account 15 Pieriballia viardi
Last Updated: 17 September 2007.
References:
Canals G 2003 Mariposas de Misiones - LOLA, Buenos Aires.