Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• Waterhouse, G.A. & Lyell, G. 1914. The Butterflies of Australia: a monograph of the Australian Rhopalocera introducing a complete scheme of structural classification, and giving descriptions and illustrations of all the butterflies found in Australia, including a number now recorded for the first time. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 239 pp. 38 pls + 3 unnumbered colour pls. [Date published 25 July 1914] [59]
• Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xiv 682 pp. 49 pls. [391]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Extralimital distribution—Indonesia (Aru Islands, Irian Jaya, Kei Islands), Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Oriental Region.

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Kanmantoo (KAN), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Other Regions

Lord Howe Island terrestrial & freshwater, Norfolk Island terrestrial & freshwater, Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater

Original AFD Distribution Data

Afrotropical Region

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Lord Howe Island
  • New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Norfolk Island
  • Northern Territory: Lake Eyre basin, N Gulf, N coastal, W plateau
  • Queensland: Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin, N Gulf, NE coastal
  • South Australia: Lake Eyre basin, S Gulfs
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
  • Western Australia: N coastal, NW coastal
• Indonesia
  • Aru Islands
  • Irian Jaya
  • Kei Islands
• Marshall Islands
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Vanuatu
• Western Samoa

Oriental Region

Ecological Descriptors

Larva: herbivore (associated flora: Persicaria prostrata (R.Br.) Sojak [POLYGONACEAE] Creeping Knotweed; Pseuderanthemum variabile (R.Br.) Radlk. [ACANTHACEAE] Love Flower; Richardia brasiliensis Gomes [RUBIACEAE]; Asystasia gangetica (L.) T.Anderson [ACANTHACEAE]; Asystasia sp. [ACANTHACEAE]; Dipteracanthus spp. [ACANTHACEAE]; Ruellia spp. [ACANTHACEAE]; Alternanthera angustifolia R.Br. [AMARANTHACEAE]; Alternanthera denticulata R.Br. [AMARANTHACEAE]; Synedrella nodiflora Gaertn. [ASTERACEAE]; Galinsoga parviflora Cav. [ASTERACEAE]; Sida acuta Burm.f. [MALVACEAE]; Sida rhombifolia L. [MALVACEAE]; Richardia brasiliensis Gomes [RUBIACEAE]).

Extra Ecological Information

Introduced plants include Galinsoga parviflora (Asteraceae), Sida acuta, Sida rhombifolia (Malvaceae), Richardia brasiliensis (Rubiaceae).

Details of nominate subspecies, not present in Australia

Hypolimnas bolina bolina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Papilio bolina Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Edition X, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 824 pp. [479].
Type data: lectotype (probable) ZIUU ♂*; Linnaeus in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described; Corbet, A.S. 1949. The Linnaean names of Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. Pt 7. Summary of determinations. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 18: 191–199 [195] (type information).
Subsequent designation: Corbet, A.S. 1941. The Linnaean names of Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. Pts 1, 2. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 10: 8–27 [14] (referred to a type); Edwards, E.D., Newland, J. & Regan, L. 2001. Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea. In Wells, A. & Houston, W.W.K. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 31.6. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. x 615 pp. (interpret Corbet's (1941) reference to a type as a lectotype designation (Art. 74, ICZN 1985)).
Type locality: Java (India given in original description), see Corbet, A.S. 1941. The Linnaean names of Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. Pts 1, 2. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 10: 8–27 [14] (gave the type locality as Java); Corbet, A.S. 1949. The Linnaean names of Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. Pt 7. Summary of determinations. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London B 18: 191–199 [195] (confirmed the type locality as Java).

General References

Clarke, C.A. & Sheppard, F.R.S. 1975. All-female broods in the butterfly Hypolimnas bolina (L.). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 189: 29-37 [29]

Corbet, A.S. & Pendlebury, H.M. 1992. The Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia : Malayan Nature Society 595 pp. 69 pls. [164]

Fruhstorfer, H. 1912. The Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. [Nymphalidae]. 453-536, 545-560 pls 115, 119, 123-138 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World: a systematic description of the hitherto known macrolepidoptera. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Vol. 9 1197 pp. [Date published 1911-16] [publication date: Griffin, F.J. 1936. The contents of the parts and the dates of appearance of Seitz' Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde (The Macrolepidoptera of the World), Lieferungen 1 to 130 Palaearctic and 1 to 575 exotic. Vols 1 to 16, 1907–1935. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 85(10): 243–279] [547]

Parsons, M.J. 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea; their systematics and biology. San Diego : Academic Press 736 pp. [606]

Vane-Wright, R.I., Ackery, P.R. & Smiles, R.L. 1977. The polymorphism, mimicry, and host plant relationships of Hypolimnas butterflies. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society of London 9: 285-297 [285]

History of changes

• Papilio nerina Fabricius, J.C. 1775. Systema Entomologiae, sistens Insectorum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, adiectis Synonymis, Locis, Descriptionibus, Observationibus. Flensburgi et Lipsiae [= Flensburg & Leipzig] : Kortii xxxii 832 pp. [Date published 17 April] [509].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH Rh8925 ♀, Endeavour River, Cooktown, QLD (as nova Hollandia in original description)
  Comment: Fabricius in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described; Gabriel, A.G. 1927. Catalogue of the Type Specimens of Lepidoptera Rhopalocera in the British Museum. Part III. Nymphalidae. London : British Museum 128 pp. [85] (listed a single specimen in the BMNH and gave type information); Zimsen, E. 1964. The Type Material of I.C. Fabricius. Copenhagen : Munksgaard 656 pp. [516] (listed a single specimen in the Banks collection); Dugdale, J.S. 1988. Fauna of New Zealand Number 14. Lepidoptera-annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa. Wellington : DSIR 1–262 pp. [137] (referred to a holotype); Parsons, M.J. 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea; their systematics and biology. San Diego : Academic Press 736 pp. [606] (type information); Edwards, E.D., Newland, J. & Regan, L. 2001. Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea. In Wells, A. & Houston, W.W.K. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 31.6. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. x 615 pp. (as Fabricius described the species from the Banks collection, this is accepted as evidence for a holotype).

  Type locality references:

  Watkins, H.T.G. 1923. Notes on the butterflies of the Banks Collection. The Entomologist 56: 204-209 [205] (suggested Cooktown as the type locality); Gabriel, A.G. 1927. Catalogue of the Type Specimens of Lepidoptera Rhopalocera in the British Museum. Part III. Nymphalidae. London : British Museum Vol. 3 128 pp.; Waterhouse, G.A. 1938. Notes on Jones' Icones (Lepidoptera). With footnotes and appendix by Sir Edward B. Poulton. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London A 13(1–3): 9-17 [10] (concluded that the type locality was Cooktown); Zimsen, E. 1964. The Type Material of I.C. Fabricius. Copenhagen : Munksgaard 656 pp.; Dugdale, J.S. 1988. Fauna of New Zealand Number 14. Lepidoptera-annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa. Wellington : DSIR pp. 1-262.; Parsons, M.J. 1998. The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea; their systematics and biology. San Diego : Academic Press 736 pp.; Edwards, E.D., Newland, J. & Regan, L. 2001. Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea, Papilionoidea. In Wells, A. & Houston, W.W.K. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 31.6. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia. x 615 pp.
• Hypolimnas pseudomisippus Fruhstorfer, H. 1912. The Indo-Australian Rhopalocera. [Nymphalidae]. 453-536, 545-560 pls 115, 119, 123-138 in Seitz, A. (ed.). The Macrolepidoptera of the World: a systematic description of the hitherto known macrolepidoptera. Stuttgart : Alfred Kernen Vol. 9 1197 pp. [Date published 1911-16] [publication date: Griffin, F.J. 1936. The contents of the parts and the dates of appearance of Seitz' Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde (The Macrolepidoptera of the World), Lieferungen 1 to 130 Palaearctic and 1 to 575 exotic. Vols 1 to 16, 1907–1935. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 85(10): 243–279] [552].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown ♀, New Guinea (in original description)
  Comment: Fruhstorfer in the original description did not indicate the number of specimens described.
• Hypolimnas bolina parva Aurivillius, P.O.C. 1920. Results of Dr E. Mjöberg's Swedish scientific expeditions to Australia 1910–1913. 21. Macrolepidoptera. Arkiv för Zoologi 13(2): 1-44 pl. 1 [6].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) NHRM both sexes, Atherton, Malanda, Colosseum and Bellenden Ker, QLD, and Kimberley District, WA (as N West-Australien; in original description)
  Comment: Aurivillius in the original description mentioned several localities and both sexes.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Edwards, E.D. 1996. Nymphalidae. pp. 243-248, 359-360 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM. [246]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Common and widespread on Torres Strait islands. Extralimital distribution—Indonesia (Aru Islands, Irian Jaya, Kei Islands), New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Kanmantoo (KAN), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Other Regions

Lord Howe Island terrestrial & freshwater, Norfolk Island terrestrial & freshwater, Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Larva: herbivore.

General References

Clarke, C.A. 1982. Some nature-nurture problems in the Lepidoptera. Proc. 3rd Congr. Eur. Lepid., Cambridge 1982. pp. 47–49. [47] (referred to occurrence of all-female broods except in Australia)

Clarke, C.A., Clarke, F.M.M., Gordon, I.J. & Marsh, N.A. 1989. Rule-breaking mimics: palatability of the butterflies Hypolimnas bolina and Hypolimnas misippus, a sister species pair. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society of London 37: 359-365 [359]

Clarke, C.A. & Sheppard, F.R.S. 1975. All-female broods in the butterfly Hypolimnas bolina (L.). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 189: 29-37 [29] (noted exception in Australian broods)

Common, I.F.B. & Waterhouse, D.F. 1981. Butterflies of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xiv 682 pp. 49 pls. [391] (biology)

Menz, M.H.M. 2009. New records of Hypolimnas bolina nerina (Fabricius) (Lepidptera: Nymphalidae) from the Pilbara Region, Western Australia. Australian Entomologist 36(2): 49-50

Rutowski, R.L. 1992. Male mate-locating behaviour on the common eggfly, Hypolimnas bolina (Nymphalidae). Journal of the Lepidoptera Society 46(1): 24-38 [24] (northern QLD study, included bibliography)

Waterhouse, G.A. 1932. What Butterfly is That? A Guide to the Butterflies of Australia. Illustrated by Neville Cayley. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 291 pp. 34 pls. [Date published 15/Dec/1932] [83] (biology)

Waterhouse, G.A. 1937. Presidential address: The biology and taxonomy of the Australasian butterflies. Report of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science 23: 101-133 [also issued as a repaginated separate in 1938] [12] (description, distribution)

Waterhouse, G.A. & Lyell, G. 1914. The Butterflies of Australia: a monograph of the Australian Rhopalocera introducing a complete scheme of structural classification, and giving descriptions and illustrations of all the butterflies found in Australia, including a number now recorded for the first time. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 239 pp. 38 pls + 3 unnumbered colour pls. [Date published 25 July 1914] [59] (description, distribution)

History of changes