Delias butterflies (Lepidoptera, Pieridae) cohabiting in the highlands of New Guinea Island

Abstract

Delias is one of the genera belonging to Pieridae, which is well known for bright wing markings considered as aposematic colors. A list of Delias butterflies cohabiting in some localities of the highlands of New Guinea Island (New Guinea) is presented, to demonstrate that their marked diversification and cohabitance are general features of this genus in that region. The mechanism of their remarkable speciation has been considered to be allopatric and we demonstrate it by presenting a typical example. Such distinct differences presented as a typical example, however, have not been observed in the mountains of Southeast Asia. Therefore, we suggest that other mechanisms, which remain unclarified, underlie the peculiar diversification of Delias butterflies and the maintenance of their cohabitance in New Guinea.