Delias argenthona (Scarlet Jezebel)

Other Common Names

Northern Jezebel, Tinted Delias

Notes

As with other Delias species, this butterfly spends much of its time up in the trees, making it hard to get photos. But they do love to feed from flowers, such as gums and bottlebrushes. Most of my pictures were all taken in Cairns in August 2007,  late one afternoon when a number of these butterflies were feeding in a gum tree and trying to have an orgy! I only had a point-and-shoot camera at the time, and the photos were taken using its maximum digital zoom, hence they’re grainy.

The only other time I’ve photographed this species was at Mount Sugarloaf in February 2011. By this time I was using a DSLR and a proper macro lens, and the butterfly was so busy feeding from flowers that I was able to get a couple of reasonable shots. Interestingly, this guy was an aberration – the black markings on the underside of his hind wings were almost entirely absent.

Sightings

Cairns – August 2007
Mount Sugarloaf – February 2011
I’ve seen them around Cairns occasionally since 2011, but have never managed another photo, so far!

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