FAMILY NAME: Pieridae GENUS/SPECIES: Delias nigrina COMMON NAMES: Black Jezabel or Common Jezabel
SIZE: Wingspan approx 65mm or 2.5".
LOCATION: They are found throughout Queensland and New South Wales
LIFE CYCLE: During the larval stage they have a black head and a green body with two rows of yellow spots the length of the body and a white hair protruding from each spot.
The Pupae are orange with black spikes and a pair of white horns on the head.
The adults upper wings are white with black border and the forewings have black tips with white spots. On the females the black border is a little wider, and the white a little greyer. The underwings are black, the hind pair having both red and white loops, and the forepair have yellow flashes. The body is pale with a yellowish tinge.
HOST PLANTS:
- Box Mistletoe (Amyema miquelii)
- Coast Mistletoe (Muellerina celastroides)
- Creeping Mistltoe (Muellerina eucalyptoides)
- Curved Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe curvata)
- Erect Mistletoe (Amyema congener)
- Grey Mistletoe (Amyema quandang)
- Long Flowered Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe vitellina)
- Sheoak Mistletoe (Amyema cambagei)
- Smooth Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe glabrescens)
GENERAL: The adults always seem to be moving and seldom settle. When they do settle, their wings are usually closed. They are often seen high up in the tree tops, where the host plants grow, then coming down low before going back up again.
