AusEmade

Ausemade – Showcase Australia

Hypolimnas bolina is a black-bodied butterfly species with a high degree of sexual dimorphism. Sexual dimorphism describes the differences in appearance between the males and females of the same species. It can be about colour, shape, size, and structure that is beyond the differences in their sexual organs.
One of Australia’s most distinctive butterflies, it is the female of the species that is mimetic with multiple morphs, which describes the variation in the colours and patterns, that makes the female butterfly of the species very variable.
The following female is thought to be the subspecies Hypolimnas bolina nerina, found in eastern Victoria up through Central to Northern Australia, Timor, parts of Indonesia, Solomon Islands and New Zealand. These photos were taken in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.